Why IT firms are treating artificial intelligence as a poisoned chalice

Companies specified arsenic Accenture, Cognizant Technology and Capgemini person mentioned imaginable risks successful absorption discussions published successful their yearly reports and successful their league calls with investors. India’s IT majors including TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech are apt to travel suit successful their upcoming absorption discussions.

Red flags

Cognizant said, “Our usage of AI technologies whitethorn contiguous business, financial, ineligible and reputational risks. As with galore innovations, AI presents risks and challenges that could adversely interaction our business." The institution added, “Failure to appropriately conform to this evolving scenery whitethorn effect successful ineligible liability, regulatory action, oregon marque and reputational harm."

French IT elephantine Capgemini besides spoke astir imaginable disruptive effects. “Generative AI volition alteration galore jobs and make caller ones... From a societal constituent of view, generative AI threatens to exacerbate societal divides and raises challenges for ideology and quality rights, peculiarly arsenic its workings deficiency transparency and results whitethorn beryllium inappropriate oregon biased," it said.

Also read: Unease astatine Cognizant, Capgemini, Accenture implicit emergence of AI risks

Accenture warned astir information risks and the imaginable interaction connected profitability. “[GenAI] could trim our quality to get favourable pricing… As cyberattacks go progressively blase (e.g. deepfakes and AI-generated societal engineering), the hazard of information incidents and cyberattacks has increased. Such incidents could pb to shutdowns, oregon disruptions of oregon damage… and unauthorised disclosure of delicate oregon confidential information."

Gen AI is creating caller gross streams and is present portion of each IT major’s toolkit. Microsoft (in conjunction with OpenAI), Meta and Google person deployed gen AI tools, portion Apple has decided to usage Google’s Gemini successful its devices. Hyperscalers and telecom work providers, moving unreality operations and information centres, are besides beneficiaries of AI deployment arsenic it has brought successful caller business.

Accenture said gen AI volition lend astir $1.1 cardinal oregon 2.8% of its bid publication for January-June 2024. TCS estimated it had gen AI contracts worthy $900 million, oregon astir 2.1% of its March bid book. The numbers whitethorn look negligible, but these gross streams did not beryllium 18 months ago, and IT services firms are besides expanding their usage of AI internally.

Tectonic shifts

AI’s disruptive interaction volition beryllium felt crossed each manufacture and society. It volition origin tectonic shifts successful employment and enactment patterns. Call centres, for example, volition request less quality agents. Basic coding is besides becoming AI-dominated, truthful determination volition beryllium little request for “ant-farms" of coders. Translation services and basal quality reporting is besides being done by AI. On the flip side, determination is simply a request for much and smarter humans successful areas specified arsenic cybersecurity to tackle the risks posed by AI.

Many professions could go redundant adjacent arsenic caller ones are created, requiring re-training and upskilling of employees. A unsmooth analogy would beryllium the emergence of the interior combustion engine. Within a fewer decades, cars generated millions of jobs and transformed society. But horse-breeders, carriage-drivers and others besides went retired of business. So yes, AI could pb to “exacerbations of societal divides", arsenic Capgemini pointed out.

Also read: AI frontier: Can India leap ahead?

The usage of AI connected the battlefield, successful instrumentality enforcement and successful surveillance – each imaginable gross opportunities – are besides a origin for concern. In presumption of reputational harm, Google has already seen employees protestation against Project Nimbus, done which the institution provides AI, unreality computing and different resources to Israel’s military.

Israel has besides utilized locally developed AI algorithms called ‘Lavender’ and ‘Where’s Daddy’ to place Hamas members successful Gaza and people them with explosives. AI besides controls subject drones and different autonomous and semi-autonomous weaponry connected modern battlefields.

Regulators playing catch-up

Since AI besides enables close face-recognition and tin analyse analyzable accusation for hidden patterns and connections, its imaginable uses scope from driving cars to identifying uncommon cancers. However, the aforesaid exertion could beryllium utilized by repressive regimes to way dissidents and crush opposition.

Policymakers person started to code immoderate of these concerns. The EU, for instance, has enactment restrictions connected the usage of look designation and connected AI targeting minors. Its legislation, which uses a template to classify AI by levels of risk, could service arsenic a draught for different lawmakers, but the exertion is ever apt to outpace regulation.

Like immoderate different technology, AI is successful itself neither bully nor atrocious and its effects beryllium connected however it is used. As it is trained to execute much tasks, businesses astatine the cutting-edge of R&D and AI deployment volition person to locomotion a tightrope. So far, however, we person afloat grasped neither the risks nor the rewards.

Also read: Generative AI: Five ways companies successful India tin afloat exploit its potential