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The dark side of AI

I've written columns in the past, examining the type of jobs now under very real threat from advances in AI technology -- but today I look at how entire nations that are being affected.

Whilst many developed nations are supposedly going to see a net benefit from the adoption of AI technology, there are some countries that will take a huge financial hit instead.

In fact, some of those countries have already seen a significant devaluation in their currency and growing layoffs within industries that have previously played a big part in their economy.

One of the reasons for this devaluation, 14 percent over the past year in the case of India, has been hi-tech capital flight to other nations which have placed a focus on AI development.

However, another key component of this is the growing shift away from using Indian call centre operators towards the use of AI chatbots by a wide range of Western companies.

Instead of paying Indian operators $15-$25 per hour, AI chatbots can provide the same, or even better levels of service for just $2-$3 per hour. What's more, by using internally hosted AI systems these companies are moving this critical element of frontline sales and support in-house. That improves security and control.

The fact that hi-tech investors are also directing their funds towards AI-focused investments in countries such as the USA, Europe and elsewhere is leaving India with a real problem since they don't have the money to build a technology infrastructure to compete with those nations.

Another nation perhaps even more hit by this shift is the Philippines, a country also heaviliy dependent on cheap call centre operations and one with even less capital available for investment in alternatives.

The Philippines appears to be taking a different tack however. They look to be making an attempt to reposition themselves away from front-line call handling towards higher-skill positions further up the escalation tree. By providing its workers with higher levels of training and knowledge, the goal seems to be that it will offer "expert" call handling, rather than the simple flow-chart scripted responses we've seen in the past.

This would appear to be a bit of a gamble though, given the rapid rate at which AI systems are improving. How long before an AI chatbot equals or even eclipses the abilities of a well-trained human in such a support role?

While we think of white-collar Western workers being the ones most adversely affected by AI's relentless march, the reality could be that it will be entire nations, such as those I've mentioned, who will be most impacted -- at least in the short term.

The utopian theory is that in the West, those whose jobs are replaced by AI can simply retrain for new positions that pay even more than the ones which were lost. This will be funded by the increases in productivity that AI purportedly brings to such businesses.

For those in poor countries such as India and the Philippines however, there probably aren't going to be a lot of alternative jobs and access to retraining may be limited or non-existant.

The AI revolution is predicted to ultimately have even more impact on society and the fortunes of its people than did the industrial revolution. However, the unintended consequences for those who are not able to take advantage of these changes may be severe and unpleasant.

Carpe Diem folks!

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