Thinking machines have been the stuff of myths, legends, plays, stories and films for thousands of years. But also how limited such machines are because they lack common sense. The bronze giant Talos, who was supposed to protect the island of Crete from enemies, was able to distinguish between friend and foe, but did not know that shipwrecked people could be neither. Thanks to Medea, Jason and the Argonauts were able to escape death by outwitting Talos and taking Ichor, the blood of the gods, which had turned him into an animated, thinking object in the first place. I mentioned this legend in my AI book When Monkeys Teach Monkeys.
But what do we humans think about thinking machines? Often with just as little common sense, but with a lot of gut feeling. And this is only of limited help and in many cases leads to the wrong conclusions. Wharton Professor Ethan Mollick, who has made a name for himself with his intensive work on various generative artificial intelligences, was available for an interview with Forbes in which he reflects on the use of AI in companies and what questions boards of directors should ask.
According to Mollick, the first focus of decision-makers is often on the savings potential offered by the use of AI. The logic behind this is that I could, for example, generate code faster with a programming AI and thus save on software developers. Or replace support staff with an AI bot.
But that would be thinking too narrowly and would not exploit the potential of AI, says Mollick. He suggests four questions that decision-makers should ask themselves:
- What did you do that was valuable that’s no longer valuable?
- What impossible things can you now do that you could not before?
- What can you democratize and bring down market?
- What can you do upmarket so you have new ways of competing?
The increases in production are not just due to the fact that the machine is now replacing employees. Every new technology opens up a new world of possibilities. The smartphone has not just replaced the cell phone or landline phone, because who really still uses their smartphone primarily to make calls? Completely new applications have emerged, from navigation systems and cameras to diaries, dating apps and games consoles. And all in one appliance.
With the invention of electricity and electric motors, not only could steam engines, around which the production machines were centrally arranged, simply be replaced, but electric motors could also be made smaller, which was not economical with steam engines themselves. However, many small electric motors made it possible to rethink the production process and make it more efficient. Incidentally, this happened less quickly than one might think, because the old idea of having a large central drive did not want to disappear so easily.
Today’s decision-makers are faced with the task of discovering applications for AI in their companies. Because, as Mollick adds, the future no longer looks so rosy:
If you keep your productivity at the same level with fewer employees, you won’t win in a world where others are achieving productivity gains. You will be outclassed.
The full interview with Ethan Mollick can be found here.