Evolution has been an integral part of human civilization. At a certain point, there were about six different species on earth and their ecological impact was as meager as other animals on this planet. But today, seventy thousand years later, we, the Homo sapiens are the undisputed rulers of the planet. Our evolutionary road is marred with blood and decorated with some of the greatest innovations, discoveries, and inventions. From being simple foragers to settling along the fertile river plains to building some of the greatest economies operating on complicated principles of capitalism, socialism, and democracy, ours has been a breath-taking tale of perseverance and genius.
With the advent of science and technology, we are set to upgrade ourselves into completely different beings, enjoying godlike qualities and abilities. The current generation may not even make it to the next stage of human evolution. We are becoming more and more reliant on Machine Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence to accompany a host of task ranging from brewing coffee to competing at the highest level in strategic game systems (such as chess and Go), autonomously operating cars, intelligent routing in content delivery networks, and military simulations. Human Resource department of organizations leverage technologies to manage their employees, access the best of their potential and use that to get the best fit for every role. Some say artificial intelligence will take control over mankind as it is more powerful while others argue that it will help employees to be more efficient and creative in their work.
A machine can be used to diagnose complex problems of businesses but only a human is suited for skills like persuasion, social sensitivity, and empathy which will become the key differentiators as artificial intelligence take over other tasks. So, there are limitations in this road ahead when businesses need to analyze the emotions of customers and employees. A chatbot cannot easily sense the tone or emotions of customers and hence faces difficulty in interacting with them in the way they want, which can have troubling consequences a lot of times. In the future, chatbots may be able to figure out customer’s personality type, behavior or mood but that too varies for every individual. So these sentiments and behaviors are highly complex and unpredictable. Moreover, success in business is all about maintaining relationships and in my opinion, chatbots won’t be able to build these vital connections in the near future for sure.
Technology is doing good to humans in many ways but it can never replace humans as emotional intelligence continues to be equally important. Artificial Intelligence, indeed, is filling many loopholes but it is only a complement to Emotional Intelligence. It might seem that technology is our friend but it can be disastrous if used extensively. An optimum blend of AI and EI can be very beneficial and powerful and can make our lives more exciting. We need to do our research to see if we are ready for all this and then, it will be worthwhile to explore the uncanny future.
The IIM Kashipur Blog 