Creativity, Emotional Intelligence and Critical Thinking will always have an edge over AI
We humans have the innate power to create, train, and control Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. AI is dependent on data to learn and improve upon, and humans are responsible for providing that data. The data used to train AI can potentially come from a variety of sources, including historical records, human-generated content, and sensor data (the collected data).
And yet, of late (perhaps considering the impact that ChatGPT has had in the last few months), many of us may have pondered upon the question, “Am I replaceable by AI as well or perhaps if AI can really do all that I am capable of?”
While artificial intelligence has made tremendous advancements in recent years, in my view, there are still several human attributes that help humans to continue to hold a significant advantage over AI. Among those, creativity, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking are the ones that are top of my mind, which help humans excel.
Creativity
One of the primary areas where humans have an edge over AI is creativity. While AI can analyze and process vast amounts of data, it cannot really generate new ideas or create original works of art that are not based on past patterns. Creativity allows us, humans, to solve problems in innovative ways, create compelling unique stories, and build truly unique and aesthetically pleasing objects.
AI systems work best when they are given a specific task to perform and have access to large amounts of relevant data. However, AI often struggles to understand the broader context of a problem, which can limit its ability to provide accurate predictions or recommendations. This limitation can be particularly challenging in complex or ambiguous situations, where one can’t just bank on past patterns to operate in a new scenario. Even new and powerful Generative AI tools are known to hallucinate, when encountered by a problem or questions that they can’t solve, and often provide a wrong solution, albeit in a way that sounds right.
Emotional intelligence
Humans possess emotional intelligence, which allows us to understand and manage our emotions and those of others as well. This skill is critical in interpersonal interactions, such as negotiation, leadership, and communication. While AI can simulate emotions, it lacks the empathy to navigate complex social situations.
While AI can excel at performing specific tasks, such as recognizing images or translating languages, it often lacks common sense. Humans can easily make inferences or draw conclusions based on their understanding of the world, but AI systems may struggle to make similar inferences, unless explicitly programmed to do so. This lack of common sense can limit the usefulness of AI in many applications.
Critical thinking
Humans are capable of performing deep analysis and making critical decisions based on a wide range of factors, including their personal values, past experiences, ethics, and intuition. We can be highly adaptable, capable of adjusting to new environments and situations quickly. Sometimes, we also leverage intuition, the ability to make decisions based on our “gut feeling” or instincts.
In contrast, AI makes decisions primarily on the basis of programmed algorithms and data inputs. This can potentially lead to errors or biases, especially if the data used to train the AI is incomplete or flawed.
To conclude, these are just a few critical attributes that help humans to continue to have an edge over AI and may likely do so in the future as well. However, we must also exercise discretion in ensuring that AI systems are always designed to behave in an ethical and responsible manner. This will help ensure that humans can continue to leverage AI to perform certain tasks in an effective manner, and not the other way around.