A plea to journos everywhere.
Go on an artificial intelligence crash course for beginners right away.
The general level of ignorance reminds me of the very first time I saw the internet in action, round the house of mate who was then working at IBM.
It was incomprehensible. If the content wasn't on the laptop, then where was it?
And if it was *there*, then how did it get here?
If I clicked on those words that were underlined, how did it take me to another set of words and images altogether?
The future of business? Don't pull my leg.
For 1993 read 2019.
For the internet, read artificial intelligence.
The tech is on the the way to becoming an every day part of our lives in much the way that computers and then the internet entered the mainstream in the 80s and 90s respectively.
But most articles about machine learning, AI and automation are still awash with half-truths, lazy analogies and glib conclusions.
And it's not just journalists that need to do better.
Everyone's job will be affected. Instead of running around as if the sky were falling in, we need to better understand AI and its impact on careers and training.
From another AI in the workplace article today:
“There is too much hype and mystery surrounding machine learning and algorithms. I feel that councils should demand trustworthy and transparent explanations of how any system works, why it comes to specific conclusions about individuals, whether it is fair, and whether it will actually help in practice.” David Spiegelhalter, former president of the Royal Statistical Society.
So a message to employers, journalists, marketers and governments. We must stop worrying about AI, or waste time writing click-bait articles that do nothing to advance our understanding.
I remain burned by that early 90s encounter with the internet. Shamed by my arrogance and staggered by my ignorance.
When it comes to AI, we must all do better.
I will.
Will you?
Of course, Domino’s would like you to know that there is nothing remotely creepy about this. “Dom Pizza Checker is a tool used to train our team members … not to punish those who make mistakes,” a Domino’s spokesperson told iTnews. But even if that is true, even if we give Domino’s the benefit of the doubt, the Pizza Checker’s all-seeing eyes and calculating AI should still give us pause for thought. Domino’s, after all, is far from the only company tracking workers: workplace surveillance is becoming increasingly pervasive and worryingly sophisticated.
