Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm. While AI has shown promising growth in the last decade, recent breakthroughs have verified its potential to leave a profound impact on virtually all layers of society, from individuals, businesses, and even governments. McKinsey predicts AI has the potential to deliver additional global economic activity of around US$ 13 trillion by 2030. The adoption of automation, in which AI is a critical component of, is also expected to create between 4 million to 23 million net new jobs by the same year. It is no wonder that countries are capitalizing on this AI-fueled future, for it will not only boost productivity, but will also unlock opportunities to enhance efficiency and growth.
Indonesia is one of these countries. As one of the largest digital economies, Indonesia has resolved to become even more advanced and prosperous by its centennial in 2045. A young, innovative, and ever digital future workforce naturally becomes a prerequisite to realize this vision, supported by the vibrant MSME and startup community. This is where AI presents a golden opportunity. AI can reinvent the tools our digital talents rely on, such as the search engine, browser, operating system, and productivity applications among others, and fundamentally improve how they harness and apply skills and knowledge at work.
In doing so, our digital talents (and all of us) can leverage AI as our reliable copilot – from copilot for the web to copilot for the work. It is important to note here though, that we are still the pilot. We are the one in control: to review, fact-check, and fine-tune based on our knowledge and judgment. Nothing can replace our human touch.
The question now is how we can onboard AI as a copilot to bring about a profound impact on our lives?
- First, let’s create innovative solutions to solve complex problems. Indeed, the possibilities are endless. AI tools are more than just timesaving, productivity-assisting software; they have the potential to augment and amplify human capability. Imagine a scenario where a single researcher in the pharmaceutical company would take months sifting through multiple large data sets to discover new insights, yet with the help of AI the researcher could do this in less than a quarter of the time. Such a development would drive new advances in medicine and even new frontiers in science. The success could then be replicated in other industries such as technology, law, and even construction. And as AI tools become even more user-friendly, operating or utilizing the tools don’t require a strictly technical background. Anyone can build on that.
- Second, let’s build and scale up business’ competitive advantage. Most, if not all industries, may find themselves at the precipice of a modern industrial revolution. Companies of all scales can leverage AI for value creation by building new revenue streams and or boost savings. Building new revenue streams can be through creating new products or even improving customer engagement. Pepsico, for example, has been using AI to accelerate its time-to-market for products by making it three times faster to get a model into a production environment. Progressive, another example, can save up to USD 10 million annually by investing in AI chatbots to build digital trust and improve user experience. EY, on the other hand, is able to reduce operational costs and improve operational efficiency by saving up to 250 thousand man-hours of manual work through automated processes. The added values are real. It’s back to us on how we could utilize that for the greatest positive impacts in the society.
- Third, let’s make the learning process more personal and accessible. Students are unique in their own way and have different styles in interacting, socializing, and absorbing knowledge. Added with the fact that most of them belong to the digital generation, students might expect similar speed and ease when studying, just like in any other aspects of their life. By leveraging AI as the copilot, many educational institutions across the world have started to redefine their students’ experience. For example, Nova Southeastern University has changed the way it supports and engages their next generation of learners by deploying several AI chatbots, while Okinawa University has introduced an AI-powered transcription service to make lecturers more accessible for students with hearing impairment. Now, with the rise of generative AI that will enable students to use AI as their own copilot in getting lessons-related information more freely, comes the opportunity for students to quench their curiosity in a way and time that works best for them. Behind this power, of course, comes great responsibility. Just like it is the student’s responsibility to use their knowledge and judgement in agreeing or trusting the AI-provided information, as well as reconfirm the information with their lecturers, on the other hand, it is also a responsibility for lecturers, parents, industry players, and all relevant stakeholders to nurture this sense of responsibility (indeed, we have to walk the talk), pass on our knowledge, while continuing learning together with students simultaneously. In this new wave of technology, every one of us needs to make concrete efforts together, to maximize the positive impact of AI for humanity.
- Fourth, all the above can be done while nurturing and unleashing creativity like never before. Generative AI may significantly reduce the time spent on working processes, thereby allowing workers the luxury of an improved working experience. For example, coders or IT enthusiasts could have their AI Copilot help them to write complex and time-consuming code faster, while aspiring writers can tell their stories to more people by getting AI to conjure more aesthetic, yet relevant imagery. These are not about how AI will take over certain jobs, but how AI can enable people to achieve greater productivity, growth, and satisfaction. Look at it this way: when people are freed from repetitive or tedious tasks and feel empowered to contribute their best work and tap into their human ingenuity, everyone wins.
To properly unlock these benefits, making sure the technology can be trusted by society is crucial. Therefore, Microsoft has been at the forefront of cutting-edge research in responsible AI. Our efforts are guided by our AI principles and Responsible AI Standard build on decades of research on grounding and privacy-preserving machine learning. Responsible AI Standard build on decades of research on grounding and privacy-preserving machine learning.
Our work certainly does not end here. As a cloud & AI company that looks forward to supporting Indonesia as it ushers in a new, unprecedented era of purpose-driven technology, we strive to bring technology and people even closer together to realize the promises of AI; make it relevant for our future youth changemakers and hit milestone after milestone in our efforts to #SATUKarya #BerdayakanIndonesia.
This article has been previously published by Antaranews.com here, Bisnis Indonesia newspaper, InfoKomputer here, Liputan6.com here, and Unbox.id here.
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