My earliest memories of the concept of artificial intelligence was when I watched my first Star Trek episode way back in the 1970’s. I don’t think anyone was really using the term then but the concept was there with the talking, walking robots of Star Trek, Dr Who and Lost in Space. However, at the time, it was all just fun entertainment and science fiction.
Then came the mind blowing 2001 Space Odyssey. Still fiction but got us thinking about our possible future. The 1980’s saw an influx of such type entertainment; The Terminator, Total Recall, Robocop, Blade Runner, and Tron, all dabbling with artificial intelligence. But now, here we are in the 21st century, July 2017 and it is here. We have it as part of our everyday lives. In some cases we take it for granted.
Consider Siri; she’s fun, isn’t she? We don’t think about her as being primitive AI, do we? What about our Facebook advertising and the upsurge in email telemarketing? How did that happened?
Marketing companies spend big to get our Social Media, web surfing, Facebook posts and shopping habits data aggregated to inform them how and when to market goods and services to us? Now that is primitive AI.
But even greater possibilities are afoot. What does that mean for us, records and information professionals? Is it better for us? Is it doomsday for us?
Do we ever spend time to think about what AI can do for us to make our jobs better?
We need to be educated on these changes because they will affect us both professionally in our work and our personal lives and how we engage with others, conduct business, socialise and understand ourselves as a community.
AI is poised to take over many aspects of records and information, data administration job roles. But we need not be obsolete. We can be part of the change for positive outcomes and secure a great future for our profession as it morphs into far more value add for our organisations.
Media discussion on AI is now not just supposition. It is reality, and we should prepare for it. The following articles discuss the great strides in progress, predict what will happen soon and how to prepare for the inevitable changes now unfolding.
Changes looming for workers as robotics, AI enter new phase
Lawyers accountants join list of workers who could lose their jobs to AI warns report
Robots could make entire industries redundant
Australian AI expert Toby Walsh takes fight to ban Killer Robots
Artificial intelligence coming sooner than you think
Rise of the machines Unemployment
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