Artificial Intelligence Is Reshaping Everything

AI systems are advancing at warp speed. And while the latest headlines about generative AI alternate between amazement and alarm, the full implications of the technology remain uncertain.  

The promise is palpable—as are the concerns. Still, we desperately need help with issues such as climate change, public health and safety, food and water security, and much more. And while it may be unnerving to admit the limits of our own intelligence, we can’t afford to ignore the potential benefits of AI when it comes to solving some of humanity’s biggest challenges. 

What Does It Mean to Be Human in the Age of AI? 

Advances in AI can have profound, positive effects on all of us—if implemented responsibly. That means that organizations in every field must set and maintain guardrails for the use of AI.  

Employing principles of responsible AI can help organizations manage the risks of tools like generative AI while providing better products and services, accelerating innovation, and decreasing system failures. It will also build customer and employee trust by protecting against misinformation while guaranteeing data privacy and equity and inclusion.   

How AI Can Improve Your Life 

Here are a few ways AI is changing—or is about to change—our lives: 

• Quality of Life + AI. However you measure quality of life, AI has the potential to make it better. Tools such as generative AI can be put to work to save time on repetitive tasks, help you learn new skills, and enhance your creativity. And the technology can provide critical support for caregivers and greater accessibility for people with disabilities. 
• Sustainability + AI. To address climate change, we need all the help we can get. AI can improve emissions measurement and reduction across industries, including for the biggest emitters. It can also aid in climate adaptation and resilience by forecasting hazards, strengthening infrastructure, protecting populations, and preserving biodiversity. 
• Working + AI. Whatever our occupations, AI will quickly turn us all into technologists. Generative AI and machine learning systems will change the work we do, replacing certain rote tasks while augmenting others. The technology will also create jobs and skills that don’t currently exist. 
• Health Care + AI. We already witnessed the astonishing speed with which AI helped make COVID vaccines a reality. Imagine the medical breakthroughs AI will deliver in the future, including faster drug discovery and clinical trials and improved diagnostics and care for patients. And generative AI tools will allow people to better manage their own health and wellness. 
• Customer Experience + AI. AI opens a whole new world of possibilities for connecting consumers and brands, both online and in person. Generative AI tools can vastly improve the customer experience, allowing for greater personalization and more precise product recommendations. And AI can help retailers optimize supply chains and store locations, build customer loyalty, and provide more accurate pricing.  

It is well within our power to build a bright AI-powered future. Businesses have a unique responsibility—and opportunity—in this regard. As they design, develop, and deploy AI systems, companies must embed responsible AI practices throughout their organizations. 

At the same time, we as individuals must harness our innate human strengths and commit to understanding the true role of AI: it’s an artificial, amplified, augmented form of intelligence, not a wholesale alternative to human ingenuity.  

This combination—human ingenuity and artificial intelligence—can be much more powerful than the sum of its parts. AI will do what it does best: dealing with massive amounts of data and solving complex problems. And humans will do what we do best: applying our creativity, our judgment, our empathy, and our ethics as we use AI to help advance the world. 

More of our top reads on artificial intelligence: 

• What Does AI Mean for All of Us? 
• How Can We Use AI Responsibly?
• What's Possible? GenAI and Consumer Packaged Goods
• Demystifying Generative AI—A New LinkedIn Live Series from BCG 
• How Generative AI Is Already Transforming Customer Service  

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