The AI awakening: Productivity and the future of work | Insight Investment

• General purpose technologies (GPTs) have changed the world as we know it, and artificial intelligence is the most general of GPTs yet seen.
• Machine learning is rapidly advancing; with each progression the need for human input will diminish and machines will increasingly become autonomous.
• Rather than lead to vast job losses, AI should augment workers not replace them. AI can enhance human skills and knowledge, but is not infallible, meaning humans need to remain in the loop.
• Previous transformative change suggests it may take a while before we see the full benefits. Cultural resistance, especially in Europe, could create regulatory barriers, slowing the implementation.
• AI could double productivity if we embrace its creative destruction. This could dramatically increase aggregate living standards and potentially solve the huge fiscal problems facing many governments.
• There is the potential for massive gains in wealth, but this could be concentrated, with some sections of society losing out.
• The next ten years could be the best in human history so far, but it could also be the worst should cyber security protocols and regulation fail to evolve appropriately to recognise the threats associated with bad actors.

Figure 1: The Industrial Revolution bent the curve of history¹

Source: “Statistics on World Population, GDP and GDP per Capita, 1-2008 AD”. Angus Maddison, IMF.