AI is the brilliant intern of the digital age - efficient, tireless, flawed – but it’s our human insight that keeps it grounded, ethical, and actually useful, writes Irena Teneva, Associate Technical Director – Research and Development at AICPA and CIMA.
Isn’t it strange how AI is quickly becoming the latest “teacher’s pet”? Research enthusiastically promotes its potential to boost productivity from a mere 5% to over an impressive 25%.
Bosses are rubbing their hands together in anticipation of big profit, while HR is touting the importance of lifelong learning.
It takes me back to my childhood, listening to my parents praise the virtues of broccoli over chocolate – equally annoying, yet one of those things in life that may eventually prove true.
Maybe it’s time to step into the AI universe, say hello, and start with a disclaimer: “I’m only human, after all…”
I don’t have to learn a new language – AI already speaks mine. It’s called natural language, the kind used in communities and expressed through speech, written text, and so on.
AI systems have been trained on vast datasets to understand and reproduce human conversations and perform a variety of tasks.
Imagine having a super smart intern – an ambitious overachiever who never stops learning. That’s how a colleague of mine describes machine learning.
Machine learning algorithms detect patterns and learn how to make predictions and recommendations, rather than simply following explicit instructions. Isn’t that what finance professionals like us aspire to do?
Machine algorithms are like a grandma’s dream – a super-organised system that labels and categorises everything – from the sock drawer to the spice rack.
In this way, machines identify tendencies in data with the precision of a detective, solving a mystery – highly analytical, impersonal, and not affected by emotion.
This is the essence of what we call “deep learning”, a form of machine learning where systems learn from vast amounts of data, not by memorising facts as you would do when studying for a test, but by recognising patterns and making connections.
What’s fascinating though is all this is inspired by how the neural networks in the human brain work. AI mimics the way we absorb and analyse information. But it can handle much larger volumes of data.
Just imagine the time AI can save us…I might even have time to finish reading “How to Be Lazy: A Manifesto”. The author, Jason Rest, flips the script on laziness, arguing that it’s not about doing nothing, but about doing less of what doesn’t matter.?He suggests that laziness can lead to greater productivity and help create a more meaningful life.
However, it’s not quite as simple as that. AI, it seems, is sometimes more like an overconfident teenager who thinks they know everything but still gets things wrong.?
AI can sleepwalk or hallucinate, as the tech savvy people call it. This means it is also capable of churning out information that’s inaccurate, misleading, and fabricated but sounds highly believable.
You might say, “Hey, humans do that too!” True, but there’s a slight detail. We have this thing called consciousness or, in other words, our built-in humanity check. We can figure out what’s good, what’s bad, and what feels “off”.”
AI operates without emotional or social awareness, focusing purely on data and logic – and that matters a great deal.
We, the imperfect humans, know in our bones that whatever we do, we should not harm others, or the planet. But this moral compass is not shared by machines – not that they are not trying… It’s called emotion AI – a system that attempts to interpret the emotional tone behind a piece of text, speech, or image to determine feelings and attitudes.
But can computer power really replace millions of years of human evolution? Isn’t genuine emotional awareness and moral understanding still uniquely human?
We may be “only humans” but believe it or not, we also have superpowers. AI can be a brilliant collaborator but needs human oversight to stay on track. And with the right set of skills, such as critical thinking, intuition, discretion, judgements and ethics, we can become the ultimate guardians of the digital age.
Here’s how:
So, there you have it – AI, our overachieving intern, is here to stay. While it might not have the heart or the humour of a human, it sure knows how to get some things done.
As we embrace AI and learn this how to be “lazy” à la?Jason Rest, let’s remember that we are responsible to preserve the human civilization and our dear planet. After all, even the smartest machines need a little human touch.
Want to learn more about AI? Check out our latest resource: AI Demystified: A Glossary of Essential Terms – your go-to guide to become fluent in the language of artificial intelligence.