CXO Insight Middle East - July-August 2019

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If you flip through this month’s edition, you will find many guest articles on artificial intelligence. How it is impacting the future of work, ERP and transforming the customer experience for telcos, among other things. AI has become pervasive in a short span of time. The UAE, which is leading this space along with Singapore and Shanghai, is all set to open the world’s first AI-powered café this month, where robots will replace humans. It is a sign of things to come. No doubt, AI can solve some of the world’s pressing problems, and change the way we live and work. Some of the key industries such as healthcare, transport, manufacturing, retail, and banking are already reaping massive benefits from AI capabilities. What is AI? At the very basic level, it can be defined as creating machines which reflect human intelligence and do a task that we can do. Humanity has been using technology to better our lives for a very long time now, and every technology has its pros and cons. How about AI? Is there a downside to all of this? I think the current state of AI is very poorly understood and it’s time to broaden the conversation. We still don’t have reliable standards and governance models for AI, and it sure needs a reality check. Recently, Singapore has announced an AI governance framework to ensure ethical and responsible use of the technology. The EU is also working on similar guidelines related to AI governance. Who is ultimately responsible for AI and its related technologies? Some of the prominent tech leaders have already warned us of the downside, and Elon Musk has famously remarked that machines with super AI could become ‘an immortal dictator from which we would never escape.’ I think governments and policymakers will have to address this urgently given the far-reaching social and economic impact of the technology. Could we be opening a Pandora’s Box? Time will tell.