What can we expect from the future? The impact of Artificial Intelligence on Society
Manuel Au‐Yong‐Oliveira, Carlos Lopes, Francisco Soares, Gonçalo Pinheiro, Pedro Guimarães
Abstract
The impact of the digital revolution has influenced society significantly in many ways, including with Artificial Intelligence (AI). The advantages and disadvantages of AI and what can be and should be done in order to influence that in a positive way are discussed. The study is based on interviews (ten) and survey answers (from 100 respondents). The survey results show that there is a general concern about the impact of AI in the future (the negative impact on work and related to a general loss of control). Furthermore, more than 50% of the answers lead to the thought that “Humans will learn to use the power of computers to improve their own skills and be ahead of AI”. As concerns the interviews, it was interesting to realize that practical courses, such as students studying engineering, were the ones who were afraid of AI instead of the social ones. This may be because the engineering students are the ones who know more about AI so they better realize the possible implications of AI on their future jobs. Another possible reason is that non-engineering students believe that human sensibility needed in their fields of study is more difficult to reproduce by AI machines than technical skills present in other fields of study/jobs.