AI Roundtable Recap: Navigating the Impacts, Benefits, and Risks
Tagged with: AI, Technical Tips & FAQs
We all know that AI and large language models are here to stay, so everyone at every level of their career should understand the potential impacts, benefits, and risks of incorporating AI into their daily tasks.
In our recent roundtable, led by our VP and Director of IT, Ron Howard, the Unidev team discussed how AI will shape the workforce, the optimal ways to leverage AI, and the risks associated with it.
Key takeaways:
- With the popularity of ChatGPT, it is easy to forget that AI has been around since the 1950s and already powers much of what we do daily.
- AI is great for brainstorming, writer’s block, and freeing up time for people to be more strategic and creative.
- AI is advancing scientific and technological innovation by discovering new knowledge, creating new inventions, or improving existing systems.
- AI is creating new jobs and skills. According to a survey by the World Economic Forum, nearly half of the companies expect adopting AI to create jobs, especially in fields such as data science, software development, and business intelligence. However, the growth of AI can also lead to job losses or displacement for some workers, depending on skill sets.
- AI can perpetuate social and ethical problems, such as discrimination, bias, inequality, unemployment, loss of privacy, and intellectual property issues.
- The discussion raised concerns about models autonomously training on unverified, unvalidated data, prompting a reflection on the importance of data quality.
- AI takes a lot of energy to operate. Currently, OpenAI’s ChatGPT uses as much energy as a country (Argentina, the Netherlands, or Sweden). It’s estimated that the information, communication, and technology sectors account for 5% to 9% of total electricity consumption worldwide.
- It is critical to continue to use AI generated content and information with discernment. If you cannot prove or validate that what you see is true, use another source!
The tech industry finds itself at a fascinating intersection with the rapid advancements in AI. While there is a palpable sense of excitement about the potential of AI in streamlining processes and enhancing innovation, there is also a recognition of the challenges it poses. The prevailing sentiment is one of cautious optimism, and we believe that transparency and a commitment to ethical AI development are essential in the software development community as we move forward together!
