Various perspectives on the consequences of Artificial Intelligence for our professional life

Abstract

This dissertation explores various perspectives on the consequences of Artificial Intelligence for our professional life.Artificial Intelligence (AI) has gained significant attention during the last couple of years. According to market reports the global AI tech industry will grow exponentially over the coming years and PwC estimates that based on the current enormous investing into AI, the contribution to the global economy could reach up to USD 15.7 trillion by 2030 . Never before has the term AI been discussed in so many forums across companies, blogs, unions, media and political circles. The willingness to invest in this technology has never been higher and all indicators show that it will only continue. Whether we are afraid of it or chose to embrace it there is no stopping it. The heightened momentum of this new technology has raised and continues to raise many questions and predictions. Some of these are of a philosophical character, others related to social or political consequences and many just want to know what this means for us as regular employees of a company. In this dissertation I attempt to summarize and categorize some of these rather complicated questions and predictions related to the consequences of AI for our professional life. I present the findings in light of four main perspectives. The perspectives include short and long term optimistic and pessimistic consequences of AI related to our professional life such as effects on employment, productivity and personal competence. While the study primarily focuses on the perspectives on the consequences of AI for our professional life such as employment effects, it was inevitable to add a broader view on the consequences for society as a whole as the subjects are closely related.