AI Will Diversify Human Thinking, Not Replace It, According To New Tata Communications Study

Today Tata Communications released a new study based on input from 120 global business leaders that envisions a positive impact of AI in the future workplace. Shifting the conversation from dystopian fears toward human collaboration and cognitive diversity, the study identifies how AI can diversify human thinking rather than replace it. The study identifies opportunities for businesses and employees based on insights from leaders such as Tony Blair, Executive Chair of the Institute of Global Change and former UK Prime Minister, who predicts that “AI will allow us to do what it is that we are uniquely meant to do: focus on high-level thinking, strategy, and paving the way for innovation.”

Key findings of the new study include:

• Nine in ten (90%) leaders agree that cognitive diversity is important for management.
• Three in four (75%) respondents expect AI to create new roles for their employees.
• Over 90 per cent (93%) believe that AI will enhance decision making.

Ken Goldberg, UC Berkeley professor and co-author of the report, notes that “the prevalent narrative around AI has focussed on a ‘Singularity’ – a hypothetical time when artificial intelligence will surpass humans. But there is a growing interest in ‘Multiplicity’, where AI helps groups of machines and humans collaborate to innovate and solve problems. This survey of leading executives reveals that Multiplicity, the positive and inclusive vision of AI, is gaining traction.”

Vinod Kumar, CEO and Managing Director at Tata Communications, points out that, “AI is now being viewed as a new category of intelligence that can complement existing categories of emotional, social, spatial, and creative intelligence. What is transformational about Multiplicity is that it can enhance cognitive diversity, combining categories of intelligence in new ways to benefit all workers and businesses.”

In addition to the survey of 120 leading executives, the study included 15 in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs, executives and thought-leaders, as well as discussion forums that brought together internationally renowned experts from the fields of AI, machine learning, design, art, government, politics, ethics, entrepreneurship, behavioural economics, journalism, engineering and human resources. – CT Bureau