How AI rewired work and life

It's been three years since AI disrupted daily life with the launch of ChatGPT. It is now ubiquitous and, even amid fears of job losses and a looming bubble, the future is more rather than less AI

- SHELLEY SINGH

In the league of disruptive technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) is right up there with the steam engine, electricity, automobiles, computers, and the internet. But it seemed only geeks could comprehend this technology until American AI research firm OpenAI released ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. AI quickly became as easy to use as a search engine and reached millions of users within weeks.

Today, AI is the intelligent layer behind everything we do, and you cannot afford to miss out. Companies trailing in the AI race are trying hard to catch up. Technology major Apple, seen as falling behind its rivals in the race to add AI features to its products, named veteran researcher Amar Subramanya as its vice-president of AI, replacing John Giannandrea, on December 1.

"The dynamics are shifting between employees and AI, where AI acts as an intelligent layer, helping teams operate better," Nitin Rakesh, CEO and MD, Mphasis, a mid-tier IT services firm, said.

AI is shrinking time to produce research reports, infographics, presentations, videos or images. AI is making chatbots and robots intelligent - so much so that now contact centres and warehouses can run almost without humans. AI is also the must-have co-worker changing human-machine engagement.

Hari Balaji, partner, technology consulting, EY India, said, "The disruption is structural-entry level, rule-based tasks are being consolidated. Companies are reconfiguring hybrid pods of humans plus AI agents, and are demanding fusion skills, where humans provide judgment and AI agents deliver at scale, speed and consistent execution."

Arun Chandrasekaran, distinguished V-P and analyst at Gartner added, "AI acts more like a collaborator than a tool. It has lowered the barrier to innovate, enabling even smaller firms to challenge incumbents, via AI-native operating models."