Artificial intelligence technology promises a lot of welfare for humans, but at the same time, many believe that this technology may be more dangerous than benefits.
Of course, the problem is not with AI itself.
Rather, the way we use it.
This is what Professor Daron Acemoglu believes, whose book was entitled "Why Nations Fail?"
A 2013 Wall Street Journal bestseller, organizations that are good at applying statistical pattern recognition to large data sets gain a very significant advantage over consumers, employees, and competitors.
Acemoglu's concerns are not about the current misuse of AI per se, but rather that AI, which is currently under development, will lead to consequences that far outweigh its long-term benefits.
The good news is that regulation can solve the problem, but only if we act quickly.
The market driven by artificial intelligence
Online shopping seems like a well-functioning marketplace, with consumers having more than enough information to make a smart purchase, and Acemoglu acknowledges that AI can benefit consumers by helping companies make better products.
For example, AI-based insights can be used to improve product quality and better meet customer needs.
However, in a recent article in voxEU, Acemoglu explained that he has found evidence of several ways technology is hurting the market and heading in the wrong direction.
The main problem is that companies that collect a lot of data about their customers can also use AI-based insights to squeeze the user into every cent of every transaction.
For example, retailers use a technique called "price differentiation" to achieve as much as possible in each transaction by charging different prices to different customers.
The data gives retailers an indication of how much specific segments of customers need or want a product and how much they are willing to pay, and they set their prices accordingly.
Another technique involves serving personalized ads during "key moments of weakness" when the ads are most effective.
These methods make business sense for the companies that use them, but they stifle competition and reduce the money customers have to spend elsewhere.
Even more alarming, Acemoglu points out, this trend is also increasing inequality and discrimination.
AI-led automation is poised to increase economic inequality by forcing some workers into low-paying jobs or making them completely out of work (Getty Images)
Artificial intelligence at work
Artificial intelligence is also changing the relationship between companies and their workers.
New inventions have put people out of work and created jobs for others long before the advent of artificial intelligence.
But what is different now is the scale and pace of the upcoming transformation.
AI is already changing how work is done in industries from healthcare to manufacturing to finance.
Although Acemoglu has found no evidence of a looming mass unemployment crisis - at least not anytime soon - his research shows that AI-led automation is poised to increase economic inequality by forcing some workers into low-paying jobs or making them out of work. work perfectly.
The result?
Democracy itself could suffer if AI “shifts the balance of power away from labor and toward capital,” Acemoglu says.
In fact, artificial intelligence can make entire categories of people irreplaceable in the labor market.
It can be hard to accept that a technology can have such an impact on large organizations.
However, we already have little indications of what can happen when AI-powered algorithms are unleashed on society, as a large recent experiment confirmed that Facebook's algorithm limits users' exposure to news from a perspective they don't agree with.
This has helped spread extremism and misinformation on social media.
Towards a brighter future
There is no denying that AI promises many benefits to humanity.
Just in medicine, AI has already given doctors the tools to diagnose some conditions more accurately and treat them more effectively.
So, how can we benefit from artificial intelligence without suffering from its disadvantages?
The answer, Acemoglu says, is smart regulation.
The worst-case scenario could be avoided if policy makers reconsider specific systems for this technology to legalize the use of AI in some applications, including automation and certain forms of data collection.
These rules have the potential to give ordinary people a chance to benefit from the AI revolution, not just the big companies that are currently leading their research and implementation.
Acemoglu isn't the only AI expert trying to make algorithms work better for society.
In an article published in the New York Times,
Former Facebook data scientist Rudy Lindsey said Congress could address the problem by using the law to change the platforms' incentives.
The solution is to make companies accountable for the content that their algorithms drive.