John McCarthy was the first person who invented the term “artificial intelligence” in the year 1955. He is amongst the fathers of artificial intelligence along with Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell, Alan Turing, and Herbert A. Simon.
The first AI program was designed by Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon. John McCarthy in 1956 conducted a conference regarding this topic and then he started AI as a field.
There are many benefits of using AI but the question is – Are we slaves to technology? Will AI pose a threat to humanity? Alternatively, will robots replace human? These questions have gained quite a popularity in the last few years.
Scientists and other philosophers are conducting researches to prove whether AI will be a threat to humanity.
Let us try to cover some topics through this article that will help us understand whether artificial intelligence a boon or bane for humanity.
Artificial Intelligence as Boon
AI is a boon for human beings in many ways. It has made the life of human being simpler and convenient. It has brought a new era in the world of technology.
Things are seen in a different way now, things that were not possible has been made possible with the help of artificial intelligence. Below are some points that tell how AI is boon for human beings:
We can overcome the limitations of human beings with the help of artificial intelligence. Machines do not need a break; they do not feel fatigued or they do not get bored by doing monotonous work.
Artificial Intelligence makes decisions that are more accurate and help humans in different ways.
AI has different branches and works differently in various sectors.
1) E-commerce
In E-commerce, AI helps in studying the patterns of customer demand and trends. According to the searches, it generates a pattern and provides a custom suggestion according to their previous purchases.
- It helps in detecting fraud and unauthorized users
- Provides security
- Acts as a virtual assistant, which helps the customer by assisting them in technical or administrative work from a particular office.
- It helps in predictive marketing and helps the customer buy suggesting them products that they might be interested in.
Also Read: AI Capabilities That Already Pose a Threat to Humanity
2) Healthcare Sector
In Healthcare, AI can collect, store and study the large amount of medical data. Different diseases can be diagnosed at an early stage and treatment can be started at the right time.
The diseases can be recognized promptly and accurately. This is done with the help of the data previously collected. The AI analyzes this data and detects the problem.
It also helps to reduce human errors. As making mistakes is a natural tendency of every human, mistakes in the health industry can have fatal results. To solve this problem machines can be used as they do not make errors.
3) Banking Sector
In Banking sector, AI can be used in the following ways:
- As net banking is being prevalent, the use of smart or digital wallets has increased.
- Banks provide voice-assisted banking service to their customers. In this technique, the machine assists the customer by voice commands instead of the touch screen.
4) Education Sector
Students can get great help with the use of AI in education. Intelligent tutoring systems help the students to teach them in their preferred ways.
With the help of AI, teaching can be made more fun and interesting. Teachers can also use AI to monitor the performance of the students and corresponding to it reports can be made for students.
Also Read: Is AI Going to Rule the World?
Artificial Intelligence as Bane
As there are so many advantages of using artificial intelligence, there are also certain demerits that make artificial intelligence a bane for humankind.
1) Loss of Jobs
Despite numerous benefits and convenience, AI has caused a lot of unemployment. A single robot is able to perform the work of more than one employee.
Other than this, robots do not forget data, make mistakes, or feel bored and most importantly, they do not need a salary, they only need maintenance.
Hence, for a businessman hiring a robot is more convenient than hiring a person. In this way, AI destroys employment opportunities.
2) High Cost
AI incurs a high cost and it is still in the developing stage. A lot of researches have been conducted and it was found to fully develop it.
AI programmers require excellent and strong in programming, mathematics, deep learning, machine learning, etc. Hiring a professional scientist and creating a robot is very costly. In addition, to this, a huge cost is incurred in its maintenance.
3) Terrorism & Online Scams/ Attacks
As AI is made by human and works according to the instructions provided to them. The human with evil intensions can program according to their evil intentions and misuse it in various ways.
Terrorist can use it for hacking government systems or nuclear attacks, etc. and similarly online attacks can be done that are powered by these robots.
4) Lacks Originality
Although, AI has a lot of applications, it can never replace a human as they do not have any power of imagination and creativity. They work according to instructions provided and are unable to think like a human.
Artificial Intelligence a Boon or Bane for Mankind
The bottom line is that AI has both pros and cons. Although its vast applications are helping humans in different ways due to which it is considered as a boon for humans, its demerits are proving it a bane for the humankind.
Briefly, the government and other scientists must keep in check that it does not cause any serious harm to human.
