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AI will replace human tasks faster than previous technologies: Singapore's president Tharman Shanmugaratnam
"What you regard as a better job – and a job that deserves better pay – might change in the years to come," Tharman said at the FinTech Festival.
SINGAPORE — Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be faster than previous technologies at replacing human tasks while enabling humans simultaneously, said Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
"There will not be dramatic change within three or four years, but I think in 10 to 15 years, this technological revolution is going to have a profound effect on the workforce," said Tharman during a fireside chat at the opening of the 2023 Singapore FinTech Festival.
With the advent of large language model (LLM) powered chatbots, Tharman highlighted that machines are now going to "take on more human characteristics" and that there were very different "distributional consequences" compared to past technologies, which should be addressed.
"The earlier waves of technology – automation, in factories, logistics and the like – essentially replaced what was called routine and repetitive work. What's different about LLMs and AI is that it takes over cognitive tasks. It takes over tasks that are done by people with better education and, in fact, better incomes.
"It might upend the traditional hierarchy of jobs. What you regard as a better job – and a job that deserves better pay – might change in the years to come," said Tharman.
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As a result of the AI disruption to the traditional hierarchy of jobs, Tharman opined that the way we value IQ (intelligence quotient) over EQ (emotional quotient) might change.
"We'll want to give more value to the jobs that require EQ, the jobs that require teamwork, and the jobs that require collective imagination," said Tharman.
Balancing AI
On how to balance the improvements and risks that AI brings to humanity, Tharman said that the first step is to "look out for the worst things that can happen and try to avoid them". Using the healthcare sector as an example, he said that matters of life and death should be left up to human decision-making despite the positive enabler role that AI brings to the sector.
It (AI) might upend the traditional hierarchy of jobs. What you regard as a better job – and a job that deserves better pay – might change in the years to come.Tharman Shanmugaratnam
Similarly, matters of national security and personal financial savings should be left to human judgment, where ethical rules are still needed to ensure that the right advice is being provided.
"We're very early in the game of even thinking of how we can regulate this, and my cast of mind is not to be too all-encompassing, not to be too comprehensive. You can do a lot of thinking about it, but focus on the tasks that involve avoiding the worst," said Tharman.
"If you ask me about the range of risks we face – in health and financial savings, in security – I would say each of them requires focused attention on the worst things that can happen. It must involve an international coalition of countries."
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