Week 2 - What is AI up to?

 


    The second chapter of Surfing the Tsunami, by Todd Kelsey, covers what AI has been doing for the past few years. Although, with the pace that technology moves it is a bit out of date with what AI is up to "today". In any case, he is priming us for future chapters by trying to explain software and hardware and the link between the two and how they relate to the progress of AI. However, the point of this chapter is to focus on what AI is doing today and why it matters. Although, the chapter is a bit unfocused and uses excessive analogies to its detriment.
    
    Choosing just one small part of the chapter Kelsey focuses on "the automation of virtual processes" and how this will have the biggest impact on the job market (Kelsey, 2018 p. 36). Although, I disagree with his rational for why it will impact the job market he is correct that most routine tasks and most virtual business process will be automated. However, this has always been the case. He uses the example of an accountant using a spreadsheet that has tools and functions integrated into it that make his job easier. Most of what the accountant does is a virtual process, that is the computation, and such are not physical anymore, therefore they are prime for automation. However, most modern accountants know these days that modern accounting software will do everything for you. For example, QuickBooks, which I used to file my own business taxes, will generate profit and loss statements, balance sheets, categorize transactions and generate essentially whatever report you want, and you can even file directly with the IRS through QuickBooks for an extra fee of course. However, this did not mitigate the need for an accountant nor put accountants out of business even after they integrated Artificial Intelligence into QuickBooks. The simple reason is that the accountant becomes an add on service and businesses will happily pay for an add on service that they think provides value or to outsource more of their work. They also still need accountants to audit businesses and sign off on legal documents.

    We can also consider that the software is now built so why has Intuit not laid off their software engineers. Why not lay them off and then lower the subscription fee of the product? Or why even have accountants on staff if they are not necessary for the majority of small businesses who file on their own? 
    
    The point that I am trying to make with that is that our world is designed around humans and our machines our too. Again, ultimately humans are the consumer we are targeting, and businesses need consumers. Useless jobs exist for a reason, those of us that work pointless jobs may wonder why we have not yet been replaced. Part of the reason is that a human may be cheaper since the infrastructure is already there, maybe compliance reasons, but we might also consider that useless jobs keep currency in circulation. Money is made to be spent or invested and the velocity of money matters to the federal government and to businesses. Paying your employees enough to spend it on its own products or on other people's products who then spend it on their products is just good business.
    
    From an ethical and practical business standpoint profit is like oxygen for the body. You need it to live but having more doesn't necessarily benefit you and too much will kill you. Oxygen circulates from producers to consumers and back to producers. Businesses need to invest their money into something or someone and people need to consumer to simply live.
    
References

Kelsey, T. (2018). Surfing the tsunami. Todd Kelsey.


    

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