What Does AI Mean for All of Us?
What Does AI Mean for All of Us?
It’s hard to imagine an activity or industry that AI isn’t already reshaping. And with the emergence of generative AI, it’s clear we’ve barely scratched the surface. AI technology has the potential to work wonders. But that bright future depends on our ability to develop AI responsibly now.
Artificial intelligence: friend or foe?
We’re living in a critical moment. AI systems are advancing at warp speed. And while the latest headlines about generative AI alternate between amazement and alarm, the full implications—immediate and long term—remain uncertain.
As AI plays an increasingly integral role in business and society, the question on many people’s minds is: “What does the rise of intelligent machines mean for our work and our lives?”
So what does the rise of intelligent machines mean…
...for our work and our lives?
A promising
opportunity awaits.
We desperately need help with issues like climate change, public health and safety, food and water security, and more. While it may be unnerving to admit the limits of our own intelligence, we can’t afford to ignore the potential benefits of AI when it comes to solving some of humanity’s biggest challenges.
The history of
humans and machines
Long before Alan Turing introduced his eponymous test or Blade Runner asked audiences to question the line between human and machine intelligence, ancient civilizations built myths around lifelike, robotic creations that could walk and talk without human intervention.
We’re going on a journey that takes us back to
To experience the full timeline, view this experience on the desktop or download the PDF version below.
Download Timeline
AI is changing the world at lightning speed
Its potential applications, power, and ability to disrupt seem almost infinite. At the same time, our fascination with creating intelligence that can function outside of ourselves is as boundless—and as tinged with anxiety—as ever. Many of us fear the impact AI will have on our livelihoods and our privacy.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the ongoing AI revolution. But advances in AI will have profound, positive effects on all of us.
It’s already happening, in fact. Individuals are exploring the limitless creativity generative AI tools can offer. Businesses are discovering that AI provides a critical source of competitive advantage. And governments are studying ways to implement AI to improve their interactions with citizens and achieve broader policy objectives.
AI is reshaping the roles we play as consumers, citizens, employees, students, patients, leaders, and more. When we apply our human IQ and EQ to figure out the best and most responsible way to deploy AI, we’ll all reap the benefits.
Learn how organizations can deploy AI responsibly, and explore the many ways AI technology can improve your life.
Health Care
Health Care + AI
AI helped propel COVID vaccines from hope to reality with astonishing speed. Imagine the medical breakthroughs AI will deliver in the future:
- Faster drug discovery and clinical trials and improved diagnostics and care for patients
- Generative AI tools that allow people to better manage their own health and wellness
For more on how AI is changing health care…
Customer Experience
Customer Experience + AI
AI opens a whole new world of possibilities for connecting consumers and brands, both online and in person:
- Generative AI tools can vastly improve the customer experience, allowing for greater personalization and more precise product recommendations
- AI can help retailers optimize supply chains and store locations, build customer loyalty, and provide more accurate pricing
For more on how AI is reshaping the way companies sell and consumers buy…
Learning
Learning + AI
Generative AI and other AI tools can be extraordinarily beneficial for learning and education. To fulfill their potential:
- We’ll need to make learning a lifelong pursuit, whether in school or at work
- Organizations will have to make reskilling a strategic imperative
For more on how AI will change education and learning...
Working
Working + AI
From seasoned executives to summer interns, AI will make technologists of us all. Generative AI and other machine learning systems will:
- Change the work we do, replacing certain rote tasks while augmenting others
- Create jobs and skills that don’t currently exist
For more on how AI can transform the way we work...
Mobility
Mobility + AI
Real commutes aren’t like the fun-filled images in car commercials. Instead, they involve congestion, pollution, risk, wasted time, and more. Relief is coming:
- From AI-enhanced vehicles, including shared self-driving cars and autonomous trucks
- And from mobility as a service, which will optimize safe and sustainable commuting options
For more on how AI can help improve mobility…
Responsible AI
Responsible AI
Responsible AI isn’t just another aspect of artificial intelligence. It’s the essential principle that should guide the use of AI in every field. Responsible AI can:
- Help organizations manage the risks of tools like generative AI while providing better products and services, accelerating innovation, and decreasing system failures
- Build customer and employee trust by protecting against misinformation while guaranteeing data privacy and equity and inclusion
For more on how responsible AI can create value for individuals and organizations…
Quality of Life
Quality of Life + AI
However one measures quality of life, AI has the potential to deliver significant benefits. Tools such as generative AI can be used to:
- Save time on repetitive tasks, learn new skills, and enhance our creativity
- Provide critical support for caregivers and greater accessibility for people with disabilities
For more on how AI can improve quality of life…
Government
Government + AI
Governments that harness the power of AI can generate significant benefits for the citizens they serve. AI can enable:
- Smarter and faster policymaking and crisis response, reimagined service delivery, and more efficient operations
- An entirely new citizen experience, giving people a single, personalized entry point for all government services
For more on how AI can help transform government…
Sustainability
Sustainability + AI
To address climate change, we need all the help we can get. AI can provide a huge boost to sustainability efforts by:
- Improving emissions measurement and reduction across industries, including those most responsible for producing greenhouse gases
- Aiding climate adaptation and resilience, including forecasting hazards, strengthening infrastructure, protecting populations, and preserving biodiversity
For more on how new AI-supported tools can help meet the climate challenge…
When it comes to deploying AI, many BCG experts like to cite the 10-20-70 rule.
It is well within the power of businesses, society, and individuals to build a bright AI-powered future.
Businesses have a unique responsibility—and opportunity—in this regard.
As they design, develop, and deploy AI systems, companies must set and maintain ethical guardrails for the use of such technologies. The emergence of generative AI only underscores the need to embed responsible AI practices throughout an organization.
Looking beyond the role of business, each of us must harness our innate human strengths and commit to understanding the true role of AI: it’s an artificial, amplified, augmented form of intelligence, not a wholesale alternative to human ingenuity.
This combination—human ingenuity and artificial intelligence—can be much more powerful than the sum of its parts. AI will do what it does best: dealing with massive amounts of data and solving complex problems. And humans will do what we do best: applying our creativity, our judgment, our empathy, and our ethics as we use AI to help advance the world.
What’s the
task ahead?
What could AI mean for you and your organization?
To be an industry leader in five years, you need a clear and compelling AI strategy today.
Talk To A BCG ExpertLet’s focus on improving our quality of life and discovering what we can do when liberated from routine and mundane tasks—free to spend more time exploring and expanding our uniquely human capabilities.
Featured Insights: BCG’s most inspiring thought leadership on issues shaping the future of business and society.
Explore Related Content
Slideshow
職場におけるAI活用に関する意識調査
「AI革命」の最前線に立たされている働き手たちは、ビジネスの展望を一変させるこのテクノロジーをどう受け止めているのでしょうか。BCGは現場従業員、管理職、経営層を対象に意識調査を実施しました。
Article
The CEO’s Guide to the Generative AI Revolution
This powerful technology has the potential to disrupt nearly every industry, promising both competitive advantage and creative destruction. Here’s how to strategize for that future.
Article
What’s Missing from Your AI Transformation Is a Transformer
Collaborating with AI startups or scale-ups to overcome technology gaps, skills deficits, and obsolescent ways of working can yield immense benefits for incumbent companies.
Interview
People Strategy in the Age of Generative AI
Why companies should focus on tasks more than on jobs, how they can train their managers to manage AI, and the importance of ethical thinking and responsible acting.
1 /
7