Advantages and Disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence has moved from a concept of the future to an integral part of our day-to-day life, impacting various aspects from entertainment to healthcare. AI offers certain benefits, but also has some drawbacks. In this blog, let us explore what artificial intelligence is, the advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence, and how to cope with it in day-to-day life. 

What is Artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence is the replica of human intelligence in machines designed to execute the functions asked by the human mind. These tasks may include learning, reasoning, problem-solving, decision making, and language understanding. Based on the data, algorithms analyze information and perform the predications or actions. These include various subsets like machine learning , natural language processing (NLP), and computer vision. Most of the industries like healthcare, finance, transportation, and education use artificial intelligence. While AI is more transformative, on the other hand AI has various ethical, and security issues that need to be addressed. 

Why is Artificial Intelligence Important?

Artificial intelligence plays an important role in various fields for driving innovation, productivity and growth of the organization. It makes it possible to perform an operation that requires reputative action to be done over and over again. It also improves the credibility of the data used for decision making, and finding solutions to the complex problems in healthcare, finance, education, and many more. AI tools enhance the client experience, and creativity in the field of entertainment. Its predictive capabilities help reduce risk and address global challenges like climate change and resource management. AI promotes economic development and progress of the society, by developing technology and human potential. However, since it plays such a crucial role, its usage has to be moral and controlled, so that it can also be implemented fairly.

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial intelligence provides various advantages like Automation of Repetitive Tasks, Decision-Making, and digital assistance. However, AI also has some disadvantages which include job replacement, emotional intelligence, and environmental impact. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of Artificial intelligence with examples and case study.

Advantages of Artificial Intelligence

• Automation of Repetitive Tasks

AI eliminates the time of the human to perform repetitive tasks, increasing productivity at different levels of the organization. 

Real-Life Example:

AI is applied in the automotive industry by the use of artificial robots. These robots take over monotonous activities like welding and painting and complete them with a lot of elegance thereby shortening the time and cost of production.

Case Study:

A recent case study conducted by a service based company says that the use of AI driven automation added 20% to the productivity in a manufacturing plant and helped in reducing 30% of errors. 

• Enhanced Decision-Making

Through Data Analysis, AI systems are able to process vast amounts of data in a short period of time, which helps organizations to make the right decisions. 

Real-Life Example:

Many financial companies apply Artificial intelligence in fraud detection, AI algorithms are capable of scanning millions of transitions at once,  and filter out fraud operations. 

Case Study:

During covid-19 pandemic, AI models effectively predicted the patterns of viral spread across various areas, developed successful strategies for resource distribution and lockdowns when needed. For instance, an AI company from Canada, indicated an occurrence of the outbreak before the global organizations offered any warning.

• Improved Healthcare

AI has transformed the healthcare industry by providing accuracy from diagnostics, medicine, to patient managing.

Real-Life Example:

By integrating Artificial intelligence, a software company helped doctors to identify and treat cancer. By analysing patient data and medical articles, they have come up with prescribed queries for particular treatment.

Case Study:

In India, diagnostic tools using artificial intelligence have been used in screening diabetic retinopathy in rural regions. This technology has screened thousands of patients and has advanced the efforts of early diagnosis and intervention in such settings.

• 24/7 Availability

Artificial intelligence works 24/7 through its computing systems without rest.

Real-Life Example:

E-commerce platforms use AI chatbots to answer customers’ questions all the time and help them solve problems even in off-work time.

Case Study: 

A retail sector case study revealed that with the use of AI chatbots, customer satisfaction grew by 40%, response times were lowered by 50% and there were operational savings for business.

• Cost Efficiency

AI systems have reduced the operational cost due to elimination of mistakes, effectiveness in resource use.

Real-Life Example:

Search engines have applied AI to control energy consumption in its data centres and decrease the energy consumption by 40%, and thus save millions.

Case Study: 

A logistics company implemented AI for route optimization, saving 15% of fuel and delivering consignments faster and increasing customer satisfaction.

• Personalized Experiences

AI empowers self-growth through human customization by providing unique experiences for each individual as consumers.

Real-Life Example:

OTT platforms use AI for suggesting the content to the customer based on the viewed history and preferences, to enhance the customer service experience.

Case Study: 

The streaming service stated that by using AI-technologies, recommendations of tracks helped to grow the number of users by 20%, proving the fact of the main business benefit of personalized experience.

•  Risk Management

AI allows minimizing risks and providing improved results in uncertain conditions.

Real-Life Example:

Insurance companies have adopted the usage of AI when it comes to risk evaluation and claim processing, this not only saves time but offers the customer a more prompt service.

Case Study: 

A global financial institution noted that in the banking industry, use of AI credit risk models has led to a reduction of loan defaults by as much as 30%.

Disadvantages of Artificial Intelligence

• Job Replacement

AI is used to replace humans in most organizations, resulting in the elimination of some positions in industries where several tasks are similar.

Real-Life Example:

In retail sectors, shops are opened without cashiers, whose positions are controlled by artificial intelligence.

Case Study: 

According to a report by the World Economic Forum, AI will generate 97 Million new jobs by 2025 while eliminating 85 million jobs indicating the importance of upskilling.

• High Implementation Costs

Implementing and sustaining AI programs involve significant investment in technologies and skills.

Real-Life Example:

AI-drug discovery companies invest in millions of dollars in compute and data assets, and are only accessible to large-scale organizations.

Case Study: 

One e-commerce company had to stop halfway through an artificial intelligence integration project because it simply could not come up with enough money to continue. 

• Ethical Concerns

Ethical issues arise when an AI system is developed from it for the purpose of making decisions, the algorithms are built on bias data.

Real-Life Example:

Biometric technologies like those employed in facial recognition in security facilities have been exposed to have a racial bias that results in wrong arrests.

Case Study: 

A study of the laboratories also found that facial recognition algorithms are less accurate in identifying black and other people with dark skin.

•  Lack of Emotional Intelligence

The biggest disadvantage of AI is lack of the ability to empathize or understand human emotions as job applicants do.

Real-Life Example:

The self-service technology in the form of the AI-powered customer service bot is effective in responding to market questions but performs poorly when it comes to address complex emotional situations which in turn makes some of the customers dissatisfied.

Case Study: 

In the context of healthcare, the complaints of individuals who are ill were heard distinctly, mainly, it was revealed that patients are not as welcome and understood when engaged with AI voice assistants as they are with human doctors.

• Overreliance on AI

Over reliance on AI leads a human to relax and reduce the skills they require.

Real-Life Example:

Losing control of their planes due to overreliance on autopilot systems that are developed with artificial intelligence, several pilots have had to struggle in making do with manual controls, especially in cases where the aircraft automation failed.

Case Study: 

A recent case study says that a logistics company suffered from heavy losses when its AI system broke down at the end of a busy season, showcasing the problem of dependency.

• Security Vulnerabilities

Training AI  models is a process that requires massive amounts of computations, which results in excessive energy utilization and detrimental effects on the environment.

Real-Life Example:

During the training process, OpenAI’s GPT-3 model used as much energy as half of the houses in a small city.

Case Study: 

A survey in the tech sector revealed that AI energy demand is a major factor of carbon footprint urging organizations to embrace green practices.

What are the Benefits of AI Advantages? 

The benefits of AI Advantages are listed below:

Conclusion 

AI is the two-sided coin that opens doors to new opportunities and risks at the same time. It is useful in automating tasks and decision making processes and in turning around industries. But, it also brings the major issues like job replacement, ethical issues, and environment issues as well.

The effectiveness of implementing AI can only be realized properly and to the extent that it has to be done in the right manner. The society, government, institutions, and people need to cast efforts towards an ethically and sustainably developed.  In this way, it will be possible to enhance the benefits it brings without dealing with its various drawbacks, thus creating a future in which AI will act in the best interest of humanity.