GD Topic: Will AI Replace Humans or Assist Us?

AI is increasingly being used across businesses in order to ease up operations. It is being used to eliminate repetitive tasks and saving companies costs to the tune of millions. However, AI has its pitfalls. Artificial Intelligence is a part of lots of formal and informal discussions. Let's explore it as a GD topic. By Aritro Dasgupta

This article was first published on October 31, 2022.

 

A Group Discussion (GD) is by nature a key round in the overall selection process for several top business schools in India. While many have discontinued the practice, in favour of the essay writing, others have retained the same. A GD is one where students discuss on any topic allotted within a certain group. The discussion may be heated, but needs to be civil. The end result must be a conclusion towards a common goal. Even if all do not agree on the outcome of the topic, they must nonetheless at least agree to disagree. And that is why it is essential that the student prepares for the said GD, keeping in mind both sides of any topic of discussion.

As part of this series, we break down each GD topic in such a way, that students get to know the pros and cons for the various topics of current national and international importance. One such essential topic revolves around Artificial Intelligence or AI. Artificial Intelligence has long been with us but in different forms. I remember watching Cartoon Network as a child and several cartoons would show of a futuristic world where doors would simply open and space ships simply run on human wish. In one such series called The Centurions, the main protagonists could be transported thousands of miles as their wish, using a certain set of beams. So, while AI was always part of the broader imagination, it is only now that it is becoming mainstream.

AI is increasingly being used across businesses in order to ease up operations. It is being used to eliminate repetitive tasks and saving companies costs to the tune of millions. Sectors such as healthcare, mining, employee training, education and space research are heavily indebted to the role AI is playing in easing up the playing field. However, AI has its pitfalls. One of the most criticized of its aspects is the cost- cutting, which naturally is mostly about reducing employment. AI leads to a ‘winner takes all’ world, where few individuals and fewer companies can take advantage of cutting edge technology, while leaving millions in the shade.

GD Topic: Will AI Replace Humans or Assist Us?

Let us study a few pros and cons of AI’s role on employment and human assistance. Some positive of AI usage in this aspect may be described as follows:

Artificial Intelligence: Pros

1. Employment cuts were predicted with the advent of computers, but it is now safe to say that that never materialized. Instead, computers spawned a fresh set of businesses. AI will do likewise.
2. AI takes away mostly the repetitive tasks, which are mundane, but creative tasks are still in the hands of people.
3. For all jobs automation and robots take away, several more are created are firms that are developing such software in the first place.
4. It allows for smaller companies to scale up, and take on global giants.
5. It has led to greater cross- cultural integration as AI-based software can now penetrate across the globe and help work with others.

Let us now also consider some of the flaws in this argument.

Artificial Intelligence: Cons

1. In this Winner Takes All approach, the vast majority of humans are left behind. It is often a matter of luck on who does not get left behind, as which industry or which skills, overnight gets outdated or redundant, is tricky to predict.
2. Most people are also unable to cope up with the constant changes, so do not manage to get trained timely.
3. For those in more senior positions complacent in their belief that AI only takes away junior level jobs, many experts believe that it is an incorrect viewpoint. Several apps have now started aping human innovation and creativity as well.
4. Even in the legal system, which is very subject-oriented, some bots have started writing lucid reports.
5. The Israeli writer- Yuval Noah Harari- makes a compelling case against automation and the use of AI in his seminal work Homo Deus: A brief history of tomorrow, arguing how huge swathes of human population will be left to fend for themselves.

The book mentioned can be a great read to further understand the complexities and nuances of this field. Many experts have debunked the theories prophesied in it, so it needs to approached with a sense of caution, but nonetheless, it will add value to the understanding of this field.

CAT aspirants and those further shortlisted for the next rounds of various colleges must study this topic of AI in thorough detail, as this is one of the most trending topics right now. There is a really strong possibility of some round being posed from here. One tactic aspirants could use is to deliberately go against the usual flow of the topic. This will draw attention on the speaker and inadvertently make him/ her the star of the show. But in order to sustain one’s star status for the duration of the entire GD, the student needs to be well- versed in the topic, and that too from both approaches. In this way, he/ she will stand a strong chance of being shortlisted for the next round.

About the Author:

Aritro Dasgupta is a Teacher, Trainer and Content Writer. He has taught at several leading colleges and coaching institutes in both India and the UAE. Several of his students have finished in the top 10 of various national level exams such as CLAT, AILET and DUJAT. He is also a prolific content writer, having written for several leading publications in India, while currently, also working for one in the USA.

 

 

 

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