Artificial Intelligence, a New Industrial Revolution

We are currently witnessing a significant rise in the efficiency, popularity, and democratization of artificial intelligence applications. The presence of intelligent personal assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home in our homes highlights the growing role AI plays in our daily lives and its continuous advancements.

Among the key issues raised by this phenomenon, one pressing question resurfaces with each era of major technological change: what about our jobs? Will machines replace us?

Industrial revolutions

Over the past three centuries, three major industrial revolutions have shaped history through the advent of new energy sources and techniques, leading to significant changes in employment across different eras.

Between the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the invention of the steam engine, mechanization, and the expansion of railway networks accelerated economic, human, and material exchanges, transforming numerous professional fields and creating previously unimaginable jobs.

Similarly, the mastery of electricity, gas, and oil, the revolution of communication tools like the telegraph and telephone, and transportation advancements such as automobiles and airplanes brought major innovations. Once again, existing jobs evolved, and new, previously inconceivable disciplines emerged.

More recently, the rise of electronics, telecommunications, and computing has revolutionized our daily lives and work methods. Many of today’s most popular jobs did not exist just 10 or 20 years ago!

After the mechanization of production, mass production, and then production automation, we are now in the era of digitalization. This period is characterized by the exponential development of a virtual world that enables interventions in and administration of the physical world.

By looking back at this technological evolution, we can see that each industrial revolution has allowed humans to offload relatively simple or repetitive tasks that required significant time and effort. This shift has enabled people to focus on more complex tasks requiring advanced knowledge and skills or simply to improve their quality of life. Regarding employment, technological advancements have gradually increased the demand for highly skilled workers.

AI as a Transformation of How We Work

Far from the dystopian vision of a rogue Terminator turning against its creators, artificial intelligence—an essential part of the ongoing Industrial Revolution 4.0—offers endless possibilities for assisting humans in increasingly complex tasks.

It is important to note that AI has been an evolving goal of research for over thirty years. Not every machine that performs a task is necessarily equipped with artificial intelligence. Many systems that appear “intelligent” are actually just “expert systems.” While highly useful in numerous fields, these systems simply execute predefined rules or “if-then” statements. They cannot generate responses or results if the input data does not strictly adhere to their programmed rules.

Today, various AI-based solutions simplify work in different industries by automating data analysis and offering relevant recommendations to decision-makers. These systems help companies optimize their operations and enhance customer experience while ensuring that humans retain ultimate control over strategic decisions.

Automating certain tasks frees up time for employees, allowing them to focus on more strategic and human aspects of their work. The goal of these technologies is not to replace humans but to provide them with tools to make more informed decisions and create more personalized experiences for customers and employees.