SIRM Forum 2023: AI and the Future of Work
Recent leaps in the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have captured public imagination. There is now no doubt that AI will play a transformative role in the future of work, reshaping how tasks are performed and services are delivered.
AI is anticipated to automate repetitive tasks, freeing up human workers for more complex and creative roles. It can aid in decision-making processes, utilizing massive datasets to generate insights faster and more accurately than a human could. Most recently, AI-powered tools like virtual assistants, chatbots, and collaborative robots are beginning to augment human capabilities, driving innovation and new efficiencies in the workplace.
However, this transition also demands a shift in skills, with a heightened focus on digital literacy and adaptability, as well as an awareness of the technological and ethical challenges behind the technology. Proactive efforts in workforce development and policymaking will be needed to ensure a smooth and inclusive transition.
It is in this context that the TASC Platform was invited to join forces with the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Tech Hub to conduct a workshop for the Swiss Association of Insurance and Risk Managers (SIRM) in honour of the 50th edition of the SIRM Forum, focusing on the Future of Work.
50 members of SIRM dove into the subject of AI and the Future of Work with Jerome Duberry, Managing Director of the Geneva Graduate Institute’s Tech Hub. They gained a grounding in different types of AI, insights into its inner workings and evolution, and an opportunity to discuss the challenges and political implications of its ongoing development.
Participants then worked with some of the latest Generative AI tools to help them explore and better understand some of the ethical issues associated to AI. They:
· used Chat GPT (or Google Bard, a text to text generative AI tool) to research the risks related the UNESCO Recommendations on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence,
· used Chat GPT to create scenarios where these risks were either realized or mitigated
· used Midjourney (a text to image generative AI tool) to create images that bring those scenarios to life.
Hands-on experience working with, honing, and debating the results generated by AI tools helped to spark the imaginations of this group of professionals. In the discussion that followed, participants highlighted how important these technical and political insights are in a fast-evolving space that could fundamentally change their professions – both in terms of how they will work, and what they will work on. It helped them to better envisage how human agency can find its place in an AI-powered future.
Here are some of the resulting prompts and images generated through the workshop:
A grandma is eating icecream and shopping on the internet, when she observes a data theft, followed by a loss of trust, privacy violation and emotional stress
A family with 3 children going through airport security control systems in a positive future.
A computer scientist in the Swiss mountains is using AI to measure the risk of clients in an insurance company.
A risk manager is struggling with a hard market.
A world where biased AI is driving human success
A warmer world with a larger population, with less resources, in an internet blackout
If you are interested in a similar workshop, do not hesitate to get in touch. The TASC Platform and the Tech Hub would be delighted to repeat the experience!