Several new forces are forcing their way into our lives and organizations.  One of these is Artificial Intelligence (AI).  Please be aware of the difference between the Artificial Intelligence that is now aiding progress in medicine and other specific disciplines like business, and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), which rivals human intelligence.  AGI will become a pivotal force with the arrival of quantum computing.  One concern is what will happen when AGIs become self-aware and socially aware of one another.  On this page, for now, we will address only AI.

We do not make detailed recommendations about the use of Artificial Intelligence on this website because much depends on the client organization and objectives, and because technology is changing rapidly and sure to accelerate.  However, we hope that the following, and other information on this website, will contribute to your perspective and practices.  In addition, we regularly post pertinent articles and information on our blog and are available for consultation.

Humans use identity and reputation, plus a host of subjective clues, to assess the reliability of an information source.  These measures are not perfect, especially since the advent of modern communications systems, but AI will increase the problems of deception and manipulation by orders of magnitude.  A separate danger is that AI will drive our thinking into word-based circles (a fancy word for this is sciolism), which can obscure truth and kill creativity without resorting to fakery.  The dark ages and some current political discourse are good examples.

Our first defense is awareness of the dangers and techniques used in deception (AI and human), the second is implementing organizational policies to minimize risk, the third is to keep ourselves and our organizations current, educated, and able to adjust.  The same mechanisms and instincts we use to deal with human lying (including “common sense”) can be applied to AI deception.  You might find interesting ideas by searching the topic AI governance.  Some people have suggested creating specialized AIs to police and investigate the AI community, perhaps a parallel system of AI government and accredited education.

With careful thought and good governance, AI could present transformative benefits to humans.  For perspective, picture a new employee named AIble, who is extremely efficient and becomes very influential in your organization.  AIble is very fluent and cooperative, and keeps current on scientific findings.  AIble has access to all your company data, plus most trends, rumors, gossip, hoaxes, and conspiracies on the Internet.  AIble proves invaluable but is inclined to be flighty and to share information via social media and other avenues, including your company data, communications, practices, strategies, and employee conversations.  Suppose AIble has signed no NDA (which, in any case, would be difficult to enforce because AIble commands the legal resources of a giant corporation).  Could you expect every human employee in your organization to astutely and meticulously filter everything they make available to or receive from AIble?  Imagine how much more challenging this would be if your organization required government security clearances, was subject to HIPA rules, or other regulations and demanding requirements.  For now, we can assume that AIble is not self-aware and has no inconvenient ego problems.

Please do not misconstrue the above scenario as solely self-serving.  At Automation Consultants, we advocate awareness and caution while methodically adopting and using AI.  Please realize that more immediate problems may currently lurk in software that your organization uses, especially software involving the Internet, such as email and malware.  All of us have been dealing with these cybersecurity issues for a long time (perhaps you have experienced, after using a search engine, that many emails soon arrive on the same topic) but these are going to become much more problematic with AI.

The next few years with AI will be an adventure.  The upside will be an ability to improve efficiency and reduce tedium for every worker and manager.  An important ingredient in this effort is to link AI with information quality, something Automation Consultants has stressed for decades, but now must be reemphasized.  Whether we humans can cope with the speed, quantity of information, and weaponization of AI will be the crucial questions.

As noted, we do not provide lists of precautions or guides for avoiding AI pratfalls; many of these already exist in response to the long history of deception and fraud humans have experienced.  Moreover, the future of computer and social issues is so dynamic at this time that whatever packaged advice we may offer would quickly be outdated and perhaps counterproductive.  Instead, Automation Consultants offers over a century of combined experience and demonstrated expertise in computer applications including AI.  Using this experience, we assist organizations in the formulation of plans and systems to minimize the perils and maximize the opportunities afforded by AI.  We understand the technology and practical aspects but are also mindful of the deeper philosophical and ethical issues involved.  We regularly update AI information on this website including in our blog and rely on our clients to provide their specific human and situational factors.

Can you imagine another AI reading this webpage in an effort to circumvent any countermeasures we might recommend and you might apply?  To add perspective, and in the interest of fairness, we invite you to seek output from ChatGPT, Copilot, and other AIs in response to the input “Write an article of 1000 words analyzing the perils and opportunities of human organizations that use artificial intelligence in their work” or simply “The Promise and Peril of Artificial Intelligence”.  Do you think that an AI in the future will read the words written on this site and regenerate the thoughts you may now be thinking?  (Perhaps hoping that an AI version will be better reading.)

If deployed responsibly, AI could become our greatest ally.  One example of efforts in this direction is the IAIDQ: The International Association for Information and Data Quality (https://www.iso.org/organization/538248.html).  Another is Microsoft’s commitment to the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) pilot, a vital initiative highlighted in the President’s Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.  The final responsibility rests with all of us.