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AI fails: why AI still isn’t ready to take your job Posted on : Oct 19 - 2018

The fear of AI-fuelled job loss is spreading. No matter what industry you’re in, AI-powered bots and software are taking a crack at it. AI seems to be ringing the death knell for all manner of jobs, tasks, chores and activities. From doctors, to customer service, to household assistants, no job feels safe.

Naturally, this has people worried about the future. But is AI ready to take over our jobs, or even likely to do so ever?

Prevalent AI-fuelled failures would suggest not. Howard Williams, marketing director at Parker Software, explores how recent artificial intelligence mishaps show that AI still isn’t ready to take our jobs just yet.

From hospitals…

AI is going everywhere, and even doctors are feeling threated by the new tech. For example, it is now infiltrating hospitals to help with oncology, clinical trial matching and genomics. It all sounds rather impressive. Sadly, the AI hasn’t yet lived up to the claims.

It was reported earlier this year, following some leaked documents, that one such AI supercomputer had been poorly trained to assist with cancer diagnosis. The program failed to perform its basic function, instead making several incorrect and unsafe recommendations. In fact, it was suggested that the program isn’t usable in most cases.

In this example, then, even the best medical AI was still unable to perceive and understand things the same way a human can. Plus, being a good doctor isn’t just about diagnosis and treatment. There’s a distinct need for the more human traits that enable a good, reassuring bedside manner — something AI isn’t likely to achieve for a while yet.

In the future — if properly trained — AI may well find a permanent place in hospitals. However, it’s unlikely that AI will be capable of taking the entire role of a doctor. Rather, it will be a tool to assist them. It’d be more like a glorified computer than a human doctor — so, hospital computers might be out of a job. Doctors? Not so much.

When it comes to medical care, AI still needs to be propped up by human flexibility, empathy and understanding.

…To hospitality

Hospitality is another industry that artificial intelligence appears keen to get stuck into. But, once again, left alone, AI really isn’t very good at it.

Take bartending, for instance. A required, integral and basic ability for a bartender is the capacity to pick up a glass. Simple enough, unless you’re an AI robot. Not to mention, bartending is more than handling glasses. If AI can’t manage that, it can’t hope to recognise and manage drunken behaviour, or chat to regulars, or adapt service to suit a stag group or a corporate event accordingly.

Where AI might succeed in hospitality is in logical, fact-based tasks — such as streamlining the check-in process at a hotel. What it can’t do, is offer human understanding and a welcoming smile.

In other words, large areas of hospitality need the human touch to make them, well, hospitable. View More