The Tribune

Bahamian technology executives yesterday hailed the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as "a great benefit for society" even though there is a risk of abuse by bad actors.

Scott MacKenzie, Cloud Carib's chief executive, told Tribune Business that AI - in common with any technology - can be harmful to society despite the advantages it potentially offers.

“AI can do a great benefit for society. I see technology as a tool, and if it is widely used then it’s a benefit to society, but if bad actors use it, it’s a detriment to society," he added. The world is a “long way” from AI replacing human beings in the workplace, and its full impact on society and the economy may not be seen for another 10 years at least.

Describing the transition to AI, Mr MacKenzie said: "There's a time in the future called the singularity, and the singularity is when a computer is smarter than a human. Then the second that occurs, that one computer will then be smarter than all of humankind within a very short period of time, which is then called super intelligence.”

The “path between artificial intelligence to artificial general intelligence” is when jobs will be impacted, and before AI can become fully sentient. “People predicted that nuclear bombs would blow up the whole world and we’d all be dead now. I grew up in the 1970s where we all had to duck under the table and things like that. But I think AI is like anything. Providing people act in good faith towards each other, I think it’ll be a great benefit,” Mr MacKenzie said.

AI-related fears are not that different to the concerns raised over the Internet's evolution more than 30 years ago, when there were numerous reviews and predictions that it could negatively impact society. “AI will probably be the same type of thing in that some harm will get created. But, hopefully, there's enough good people out there that will make sure that it's shaped society in a positive way,” Mr MacKenzie added.

Philip Darville, owner/operator of SolveIt Bahamas, said any new technology should be “used as a supplement” and not to replace humans, particularly in academia. “What schools should do is implement it in their standard protocols or learning methodology," he added.

“So let’s look at how human elements are compared to automated elements, and be able to use the differential as a teaching method to that. If the AI is the clean-up content, then why can’t the human element do just as good? I don’t think they should look at it as discouraging that people are going to use it to write full essays for them. But I think it should be used as a way to improve the way humans write in general.”

Tools such as AI are a “positive” thing, Mr Darville said, because the formal method is for educators to ask students to write essays without performing the task for them. AI can add value because it can help students form essays before they ultimately have to conduct the final edit. “AI is important to aid in academics and should not be looked at as an evil thing that’s going to help people how to cheat," he added.

“It’s not just about academics. It’s about businesses, too, because AI is really where the shift is going to make the most impact in utilising AI-based processes to maybe replace the human-based element from an entry level perspective. So CSRs can all become a web-based component."