Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2022. Read them in this 14th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
The Future of AI and Machine Learning
By Jordan Morrow, Head of Data Skills at
Pluralsight
In the past several years, artificial
intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies have helped accelerate
digital transformations for industries around the world. As a refresher, AI/ML
are programs that use large volumes of data to mimic human cognition. The decision-making
capabilities of AI/ML have allowed businesses to automate complex processes,
allowing for faster and easier value delivery to customers.
With all of the benefits of AI/ML come some
challenges and risks as well. Skeptics of AI/ML have long criticized the
propensity for these technologies to inject bias into their computing algorithms
and to cannibalize jobs for us humans. Despite these risks, the importance of
AI/ML will only continue to grow in the coming years. Here's how we will see
AI/ML develop in 2022.
AI/ML
Will Both Replace and Create Jobs
There is some validity to the concern that
AI/ML can eliminate certain jobs that would otherwise be done by humans. A
Gartner study showed that by 2020, 1.8 million jobs became automated. However, by
the same token, new jobs created by the AI/ML industry totaled 2.3 million in
that timeframe.
We are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution. With each
industrial revolution that occurs, jobs are eliminated, and that trend will
continue. This can sometimes be a good thing. Pluralsight author Paolo Perrotta
said "If anything, I see AI as liberating us from the jobs that are dangerous
or unfulfilling... technology tends to do that." Indeed, many of the jobs that
will be eliminated are high-risk manufacturing jobs and transportation delivery
service jobs.
In my view, we need to focus not on the jobs
being lost, but on the positive outcome that more jobs will be created then
eliminated. With a massive influx of AI/ML related jobs in 2022, upskilling in
these areas to keep up with market demand will also be more important than
ever.
Prediction
Models Will Have Less Bias
There is a perception that the precise way in
which AI/ML programs make decisions is virtually unknowable, allowing bias in
decision making to occur. According to Pluralsight author Jerry Kurata, this
will become less of an issue in 2022.
"As part of the Explainable AI movement, we are seeing tools
that crack open the black box of Machine Learning models, allowing users to
understand why a model in an AI system made a certain prediction. If we
determine that model made a biased prediction, we can work to resolve the
issues," said Kurata.
In 2022, we will continue to see advancements
against bias as regulations are passed and developed. Growing data literacy in
many organizations will help quelch the bias in prediction models. As more and
more people have a sounder understanding of the capabilities of AI/ML, it will
be easier for people to weed out the biases and help make predictions that are
more objective.
It's also important to note that bias doesn't
magically appear in AI/ML algorithms - it's subtly woven in by the humans who
feed the programs. According to Perrotta, "Eventually more of us will see that
we cannot build inclusive AI if we don't learn to be inclusive ourselves. It's
a long process to face our own social shortcomings, but I do see progress."
AI/ML
Will Become More Widely Adopted
In 2022, there will be advancements to nearly
every aspect of AI/ML technology. AI/ML will grow in sophistication, allowing
it to run on both more powerful computing platforms and also on smaller, more
low-cost computing devices.
According to Kurata, the ability for AI/ML to
run on these smaller platforms is particularly important. "Tiny ML will bring
ML to not just millions, but potentially billions of devices, and into tasks
and settings that we might not typically associate with AI/ML," said Kurata.
This brings us to what I see as being the most
significant advancement of AI/ML in 2022 - a larger scale adoption of these
technologies than we have seen so far. We will see more automation in our
day-to-day lives. Through it, we can expect the augmentation of our lives to be
greater. From smarter cars to smarter devices, these things will start to
become more and more ubiquitous to our lives.
With AI and advancements, we will also see a
continuation of advancements in the learning and development space. The jobs of
the future are not the jobs of today, and the workforce of 2022 needs to
advance quickly to keep up with it all.
It's clear that AI/ML are here to stay, so a
deeper understanding and appreciation of the value these technologies bring to
our lives will be crucial in 2022. Organizations who have been early adopters
of these technologies will reap the benefits of a quicker workflow and more
"manpower" in a time where the workforce has greatly receded. Those organizations who have
yet to delve into AI/ML are already lagging.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jordan Morrow is known as the "Godfather of Data Literacy", having helped pioneer the field by building one of the world's first data literacy programs and driving thought leadership. Jordan is Head of Data Skills at Pluralsight and a global trailblazer in the world of data literacy, building the world's first full scale data literacy program. He served as the Chair of the Advisory Board for The Data Literacy Project, has spoken at numerous conferences around the world and is an active voice in the data and analytics community. He has also helped companies and organizations around the world, including the United Nations, build and understand data literacy.
When not found within his work of Data, Jordan is happily married with 5 kids. Jordan is also an avid trail runner and loves fitness, entering and racing in multiple ultra-marathons and having fun adventures in the mountains. Jordan loves to read, often reading (or using Audible) to go through multiple books at a time.