Al a double-edged sword of challenges and opportunities

ARTIFICIAL intelligence may be the most significant disruptor in the history of mankind. Google's CEO Sundar Pichai described AI as "more profound than the invention of fire or electricity". OpenAl's CEO Sam Altman claims it has the power to cure most diseases, solve climate change, provide personalised education to the world and lead to "astounding triumphs".

- ROBERT MUGGAH and BRUNO GIUSSANI

AI will help solve vast problems while generating fortunes for technology companies and investors. However, the spread of generative AI and machine learning will also automate vast swathes of the global workforce, eviscerating white-collar and blue-collar jobs.

And while millions of new jobs will be created, it is not clear what happens when billions more are lost.

Amid the breathless promises of productivity gains from AI, there are rising concerns that the political, social and economic fallout from mass labour displacement will deepen inequality, strain public safety nets and contribute to social unrest.

In November 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, which dramatically accelerated the AI race.

By 2023, Goldman Sachs projected that "roughly two-thirds of current jobs are exposed to some degree of AI automation" and that up to 300 million jobs worldwide could be displaced or significantly altered by AI.