Evolution of AI and its impact on the workplace

Dr Rao is currently teaching risk management in the institute of Insurance and Risk Management (IIRM). A career banker with Bank of Baroda, he held the position of General Manager - Strategic Planning, Later was Associate Professor with National Institute of Bank Management (NIBM) and was Director, National Institute of Banking Studies and Corporate Management (NIBSCOM). He writes for financial dailies on Banking and Finance and his work can be viewed in the public domain.His academic accomplishments include Ph.d in commerce from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), MBA ( Finance), LLB. He runs a Youtube channel - Bank on Me - Knowledge series He likes to share his perspectives with next generation potential leaders of the banking industry. His book on "Transformation of Public Sector Banks in India' was published in september 2019. His most interesting work is in Ideasforindia.com blog. LESS ... MORE
The most innovative and disruptive enabler in Industry 5.0 is the emerging scope of state-of-the-art technology – Artificial Intelligence (AI)- that has begun to reshape the business world, more so in recent years. In what form AI will evolve and how it challenges human intelligence to control its impact on people's lives is uncertain. AI refers to any system that can simulate human intelligence: reasoning, learning, problem-solving, creating artificial perception, and mimicking human voice.
Keeping AI transition in view, the industry has moved on to build upon Technology 4.0, after exploring innovative tools such as Big Data, data analytics, block chain technology, Internet of Things (IOT), cloud computing, cyber-physical systems (CPS), cloud computing, robotics and automation, augmented reality (AR) virtual reality (VR), 3-D printing, and blockchain technology.
Technology 5.0 is the convergence of advanced digital technologies with a human-centric approach, emphasizing collaboration between humans and machines, environmental sustainability, and societal well-being. AI in technology 5.0 is a great potential innovator with power to create value inconceivable for humans and may look like a disrupter in the near term. AI is a powerhouse possessing human like intelligence minus emotions. AI can achieve its targeted goals based on its design regardless of its consequences. Hence the debate is razing about regulating AI.
Debut of AI
The genesis of AI dates back several decades, it picked up pace after other collaborative technology tools combined with the expanded power of the internet, fuelled its wider applications in industries. The internet has significantly increased the power of AI to transform industries, societies, and everyday life.
AI acts as both a catalyst and an infrastructure backbone for modern business management, transforming workplace dynamics. Moving from one level of technology to another – automation of processes to mimic the human mind, AI is capable of thinking and acting like humans, challenging real human intelligence.
To understand how AI is influencing the industry workplace, creates/distorts employment opportunities, changes job roles/job profiles of workers, reshaping skills, changing shape of jobs, proliferation of gig worker community and many other dimensions of working world, it is necessary to understand its emerging nuances.
Advancement of application of AI began with the rise of Machine Learning (ML) during the 1990s-2000s. Symbolic AI changed to data-driven algorithms based on ML, leading to the development of decision trees. ML models started learning patterns from data rather than rules. The entry of Big Data, the Internet, and Cloud computing in 2000 brought a seminal change in the AI capability. It was possible to create the data and infrastructure needed for training large language models (LLMs) and neural networks to be effectively used in every field generating intricate data sets.
During 2010, Deep learning entered the AI ecosystem with AlexNet (Alex Krizhevsky) innovating the convolutional neural network while ImageNet (a collection of vast images) was created by Fei-Fei Li and her collaborators in 2007. It led to the development of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs), and Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). They collectively increased the capacity of AI to surpass human performance in vision, speech, and translation.
Transition of AI architecture:
The AI has now developed into Generative Pre-Trained Transformers (GPT) models. Google developed a powerful natural language processing model – Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) that uses the transformer architecture to understand natural languages. DALL-E, an AI model that generates images from text. AlphaFold developed by DeepMind, now part of Alphabet/Google, predicts 3D structure. AI has developed further on large language models (LLMs) and transformers, understanding coding and reasoning.
Among the subparts of AI, ML is a system where computers learn from data to make decisions and predictions. ML is based on three broad methods (a) supervised learning – learns from labelled data (e.g., spam detection). (b) Unsupervised learning – finds patterns in unlabelled data (e.g., customer segmentation) (c) Reinforcement learning – learns by trial and error (e.g., game-playing AI).
Robotics is also a subset of ML applied to machines that can sense, process, and act in the physical world, such as autonomous vehicles, industrial robots, drones, etc. Remotely controlling them or operating them with robotic process automation (RPA).
Deep Learning (DL) is yet another subset of ML using neural networks with many layers (deep neural networks). DL is excellent for image recognition, speech processing, natural language tasks, etc. Natural Language Processing (NLP) enables machines to understand, interpret, and generate human language. With these tools, AI is extensively used in Chatbots, language translation, and sentiment analysis. Computer Vision (CV) as a part of an AI framework allows computers to interpret and understand visual information, leading to facial recognition, medical imaging, and object detection. Generative AI and Agentic AI can bring a sea change in the productivity of the companies, provided the employees are competent to deploy these tools.
Impact of AI:
The scope of application of AI tools is immense, which has enabled many technology entities to downsize their manpower. Many low-end roles are disappearing. Reskilling is the only option left with such people to stay relevant. AI bots are replacing human coders. It is estimated that during 2024, close to 150000 employees will be laid off globally. Another 50000 in the first five months of 2025. Global giants such as Microsoft, IBM, Google, Amazon, and CrowdStrike have downsized their teams. Traditional back offices in India are also reducing their staff strength, but Global Capability Centres are increasing intake.
The role descriptions of many people are changing, posing a challenge to cope with the new skills. It is estimated that going forward, 19 million jobs are at stake. The role of HR is changing. They need to adopt an AI-based screening and recruitment process, and team members are shrinking. According to a report by US US-based Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), technology is not a barrier when combined with human intellect, AI can enhance the synergy.
Way forward:
To rationalise the use of AI tools, even individuals should re-skill themselves. They need to reinvent themselves to sync with the AI-driven strategic job roles. Organisations should invest liberally in human capital to strengthen their capacity to harness AI. They should be exposed to using AI tools efficiently. Universalisation of technology literacy with a focus on AI/ML/DL applications is essential.
The next challenge is to protect the digital architecture from cyber threats. Data security and data privacy are a fiduciary onus of the entities. Preventing data breaches, data compromises, and malware intrusions is the other possible risk.
The Thales data threat report -2025 clearly outlines the operational risks arising from technology, including the use of AI. The industry has to balance between harnessing the power of AI, protecting the employees by reskilling them, and employing enhanced methods for robust and invincible data protection in the best interest of stakeholders.
A 360-degree view of AI suggests that a high-quality business transformation is possible in the long run if the near-term hiccups in its operations can be handled with inclusive strategic efforts.
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer
Views expressed above are the author's own.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Business Standard

29 minutes ago

• Business Standard

T'gana govt to hold event for transferring Rs 9,000 cr payout to farmers

The Telangana government will hold a public function in Hyderabad to mark the transfer of about Rs 9,000 crore to farmers' accounts in just nine days under the 'Rythu Bharosa' investment support scheme, state Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao said. The event, which will be attended by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his cabinet colleagues, will take place on Tuesday evening near the Rajiv Gandhi statue outside the Telangana Secretariat complex, Rao added. The minister, who reviewed the arrangements for the event with officials on Monday, said Rs 9,000 crore has been transferred to farmers' accounts ahead of the monsoon to ensure they have funds to carry out agricultural activities. Recalling the farm loan waiver of Rs 70,000 crore during the UPA regime led by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rao said the present Congress government has already spent Rs 21,000 crore on loan waivers. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy launched the disbursal of funds under the 'Rythu Bharosa' scheme on June 16. He had announced that the government would transfer Rs 9,000 crore in nine days under the scheme, despite economic challenges. The 'Rythu Bharosa' scheme will benefit 70,11,984 farmers, covering 1.49 lakh acres, Reddy had said.

Mint

39 minutes ago

• Mint

Colleagues or overlords? The debate over AI bots has been raging but needn't

There's the Terminator school of perceiving artificial intelligence (AI) risks, in which we'll all be killed by our robot overlords. And then there's one where, if not friends exactly, the machines serve as valued colleagues. A Japanese tech researcher is arguing that our global AI safety approach hinges on reframing efforts to achieve this benign partnership. In 2023, as the world was shaken by the release of ChatGPT, a pair of successive warnings came from Silicon Valley of existential threats from powerful AI tools. Elon Musk led a group of experts and industry executives in calling for a six-month pause in developing advanced systems until we figured out how to manage risks. Then hundreds of AI leaders—including Sam Altman of OpenAI and Demis Hassabis of Alphabet's DeepMind—sent shockwaves with a statement that warned: 'Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks, such as pandemics and nuclear war." Also Read: AI didn't take the job. It changed what the job is. Despite all the attention paid to the potentially catastrophic dangers, the years since have been marked by AI 'accelerationists' largely drowning out AI doomers. Companies and countries have raced towards being the first to achieve superhuman AI, brushing off the early calls to prioritise safety. And it has all left the public very confused. But maybe we've been viewing this all wrong. Hiroshi Yamakawa, a prominent AI scholar from the University of Tokyo who has spent the past three decades studying the technology, is now arguing that the most promising route to a sustainable future is to let humans and AIs 'live in symbiosis and flourish together, protecting each other's well-being and averting catastrophic risks." Yamakawa hit a nerve because while he recognizes the threats noted in 2023, he argues for a working path toward coexistence with super-intelligent machines—especially at a time when nobody is halting development over fears of falling behind. In other words, if we can't beat AI from becoming smarter than us, we're better off joining it as an equal partner. 'Equality' is the sensitive part. Humans want to keep believing they are superior, not equal to machines. Also Read: Rahul Matthan: AI models aren't copycats but learners just like us His statement has generated a lot of buzz in Japanese academic circles, receiving dozens of signatories so far, including from some influential AI safety researchers overseas. In an interview with Nikkei Asia, he argued that cultural differences in Asia are more likely to enable seeing machines as peers instead of as adversaries. While the United States has produced AI-inspired characters like the Terminator from the eponymous Hollywood movie, the Japanese have envisioned friendlier companions like Astro Boy or Doraemon, he told the news outlet. Beyond pop culture, there's some truth to this cultural embrace. At just 25%, Japanese people had the lowest share of respondents who say products using AI make them nervous, according to a global Ipsos survey last June, compared to 64% of Americans. It's likely his comments will fall on deaf ears, though, like so many of the other AI risk warnings. Development has its own momentum. And whether the machines will ever get to a point where they could spur 'civilization extinction' remains an extremely heated debate. It's fair to say that some of the industry's focus on far-off, science-fiction scenarios is meant to distract from the more immediate harm that the technology could bring—whether that's job displacement, allegations of copyright infringement or reneging on climate change goals. Still, Yamakawa's proposal is a timely re-up on an AI safety debate that has languished in recent years. These discussions can't just rely on eyebrow-raising warnings and the absence of governance. Also Read: You're absolutely right, as the AI chatbot says With the exception of Europe, most jurisdictions have focused on loosening regulations in the hope of not falling behind. Policymakers can't afford to turn a blind eye until it's too late. It also shows the need for more safety research beyond just the companies trying to create and sell these products, like in the social-media era. These platforms were obviously less incentivized to share their findings with the public. Governments and universities must prioritise independent analysis on large-scale AI risks. Meanwhile, as the global tech industry has been caught up in a race to create computer systems that are smarter than humans, it's yet to be determined whether we'll ever get there. But setting godlike AI as the goalpost has created a lot of counter-productive fear-mongering. There might be merit in seeing these machines as colleagues and not overlords. ©Bloomberg The author is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asia tech.

News18

an hour ago

• News18

Reddit Co-founder Uses AI To ‘Hug' Late Mother, Internet Warns Of ‘False Memory'

Last Updated: Ohanian used an old picture of himself with his mother and converted it into a short video clip. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian used artificial intelligence to create a moment with his late mother, and the results left him quite emotional. Ohanian, the husband of Serena Williams, often uses his social media handles to show the importance of his family. He is frequently spotted spending time with Serena and their daughters, Olympia and Adira. Taking help from a cutting-edge AI, Ohanian chose an old picture of himself and his mother and converted it into a moving image that shows the mother and son hugging each other. 'Damn, I wasn't ready for how this would feel. We didn't have a camcorder, so there's no video of me with my mom. I dropped one of my favourite photos of us in mid-journey as a 'starting frame for an AI video' and wow… This is how she hugged me. I've rewatched it 50 times," he wrote in the caption. Damn, I wasn't ready for how this would feel. We didn't have a camcorder, so there's no video of me with my mom. I dropped one of my favorite photos of us in midjourney as 'starting frame for an AI video' and wow… This is how she hugged me. I've rewatched it 50 times. — Alexis Ohanian The post includes the original picture of the Reddit co-founder along with his mother, uploaded alongside the AI-generated video that shows a heartwarming moment. Despite being an emotional creation for him, the video had mixed reactions online, with many warning about creating fake memories with the help of AI, which can affect his mental health. One wrote, 'Be careful with this. Human memories are very malleable, and you'll remember what the AI shows you, whether it's true or not," while another added, 'I've tried this. But be cautious. At least do it repeatedly until you get one that perfectly matches your current memory of them, and delete the rest. Otherwise, you may create false memories. Be aware of what you're doing, potentially rewriting history in a way that can't be reversed." A comment read, 'It's not how she hugged you. You've been given a false memory," while another added, 'feels like I'm watching a bunch of people about to jump into a pit of despair following and worshipping the AI output." Amid the strong criticism from social media users, Ohanian, in a follow-up tweet on Monday, June 23, shared another message. Noting that he lost his mother almost 20 years ago, the businessman added, 'I lost my mom almost 20 years ago. Trolls can rest assured, that I've grieved sufficiently. My family couldn't afford a camcorder, and using tech to generate a few seconds of animation from a still is the equivalent of using AI to stabilise a poorly recorded video — or fill in the gaps of a deteriorated video — of her (if we'd had it). It's not a replacement for a loved one, nor should it be." I lost my mom almost 20 years ago. Trolls can rest assured I've grieved sufficiently. My family couldn't afford a camcorder and using tech to generate few seconds of animation from a still is the equivalent of using AI to stabilize a poorly recorded video — or fill in the gaps of… top videos View all — Alexis Ohanian Despite the negative remarks on the use of AI, a section of users appeared pleased, with some even creating their own videos of their parents and their close ones. First Published: