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‘Job-killing’ robots, AI under scrutiny in Davos
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – “Artificial intelligence and
robots will kill many jobs.”
It’s a depressingly blunt statement for anyone to make, but even more so as
it is the prediction of Jack Ma, CEO of the Chinese online sales giant
Alibaba.
The rise of AI — its huge potential and fears over its potentially
negative consequences — is just one of the big issues discussed at the World
Economic Forum in Davos, along with breaches of personal data and fake news.
But it is probably artificial intelligence and the ability of machines to
not only interact with, but manipulate human beings that raises the most
suspicion.
Aware of growing governmental and public distrust, the giants of tech are
trying to address the issues.
“Technology should always give people new opportunities, not remove them,”
Ma said.
But when IBM President Ginni Rometty admits that “100 percent of jobs will
be somehow affected by technology,” it might be a tough sell.
It’s not just about jobs.
“People want to trust technology, as long as they know who is behind it,”
said Neelie Kroes, now a member of the Open Data Institute, after having been
for years the European commissioner in charge of digital issues.
In recent months, US-based Uber, which connects individuals with drivers
through an application, found itself in the hot seat after several murders
perpetrated by its chauffeurs, notably in the United States and in Lebanon.
“You have to remember that the rating of a driver evaluates his driving but
cannot predict if he is a serial killer,” Uber director Dara Khosrowshahi
told a panel at this week’s economic gathering in the Swiss resort of Davos.
“In this situation, who is responsible, the individual or the platform?”
wondered Rachel Botsman, an expert on the issue and author of the book “Who
Can We Trust?”
Uber is the best known example of a fast-growing company with a bruised
reputation: accused of bad working conditions and sexual harassment it has
faced chaotic legal proceedings and massive data piracy, which have sapped
the firm.
“For a long time, the answer of many digital companies has been to say: we
are only the software, the platform, but technology now penetrates every
aspect of our lives, our trades, our homes, our relationships,” said Zvika
Krieger, who leads digital projects for the World Economic Forum, the
organiser of the Davos meeting.
“Our response is no longer audible,” he said.
– ‘Too slow’ –
In Davos, there was also concern about Internet giants hoovering up huge
amounts of personal data, sometimes illegally and sometimes sharing it with
authorities.
“The danger is that we are too slow and that the world is destroying us
while we are still asking who really owns our data,” said German Chancellor
Angela Merkel during her Davos speech.
In the same way, attitudes towards social networks and search engines are
changing.
“The main question is whether Facebook and Google are technology companies
or editorial companies, it is a question that remains unresolved,” said
Martin Sorrell, CEO of the British advertising giant WPP.
Amid the mistrust, Davos heard unique proposals from the digital world,
which mostly rejects too much oversight by governments, believing it would
stifle innovation.
Marc Benioff, the outspoken CEO and founder of Salesforce, a major cloud
services company, called plainly for more regulation of the sector.
“We’re the same as any other industry,” Benioff told CNBC in Davos.
Much like “financial services, consumer product goods, food — in
technology, the government’s going to have to be involved,” he said.
Observers hailed what they saw as a change of heart by the titans of tech.
“Regulatory authorities in Europe have been complaining for years that big
digital companies are not responding when they’re called,” said WEF’s Zvika
Krieger.
“Let’s say they’re picking up the phone now.”
BSS/AFP/RY/08:05 hrs