Aubyn Hill says outsourcing sector need not fear AI

WESTERN BUREAU:

Minister of Industry, Investment, and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill says he is confident that the necessary security mechanism will be in place to ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) amid growing fears that the new technology will replace humans in crucial sectors.

Hill, who was speaking to members of the media at the two-day Outsource2Jamaica conference, which started at Jewel Grande Montego Bay All Inclusive Resort & Spa, in St. James, yesterday, acknowledged that there would be challenges.

“As this new technology comes it will provide challenges, but we’re smart enough to get together to find a way to manage it,” said Hill, “We have to make sure we put controls in that (so) it doesn’t run away from us. But what we’re going to do is make sure we work with it, get smart people to identify it, and the government clearly has to be there to make policies.”

“When we got computers, people said computers are going to replace people, and what computers did was make sure a lot of young people got smarter. Some old people got to use a technology they never knew and the whole economy grew. In fact, the last 30 to 40 years have been driven by the technology sector,” added Hill.

Like Hill, it would appear that not many people at the conference, which is being held under the theme, Ahead of the Curve, were overly concerned about the threat of AI. Presenters and panellists, in their various deliberations, suggested to the investing community in attendance that focus should be on using the technology to enhance their businesses.

“Imagine for a second that you now have AI that allows somebody without an engineering degree to do what an engineer does,” said Claude Duncan, head of the outsourcing entity, Sutherland Global, “So very soon, you could have someone with a diploma doing the very same work that you needed a Ph.D. to do before because AI makes that person able to function.”

“It’s actually going to help our destination with the more complex work in one way and the one area that will not be replaced is human interaction,” added Duncan.