Artificial intelligence is disturbing the workforce, and will continue to do so as its capabilities increase. Inevitably, “artificial intelligence will soon be able to do the administrative tasks that consume much of managers’ time faster, better, and at a lower cost.” But, when it comes to more complex and creative tasks such as innovation, the question still remains whether AI can do the job better than humans.
There Will Always Be Limits to How Creative a Computer Can Be
Although AI is advancing quickly, and automating jobs in many industries, it remains to be seen if computers will be able to outperform humans in more complex and creative tasks such as innovation. As of now, computers have limitations. Although they can make complex decisions, they aren’t able to summarize their “thought processes” into rational arguments, which will prevent managers from trusting their outputs. To add to that, computers cannot always fill in the gaps in our lack of understanding for how things work. Apple, for example, can’t run a computer simulation to see how their iPhone screens will fare when dropped on pavement. Because of their limitations, we should focus more on computer systems that allow computers and humans to collaborate. This will allow both parties to make up for each other’s shortcomings and be more innovative.