The new era of artificial intelligence, which is expected transform economy, work and societies were described by former Minister Theodoros Skylakis, speaking on George Eugenidis's Direct show.
He argued that "human societies are not ready for the progress that is coming," assessing that general artificial intelligence is only three to ten years away. "What comes is different from any other technological revolution, because now the highest level is replaced, the human brain," he noted.
As he said, the professions that will be most affected are knowledge professions, such as lawyers, journalists and tax workers, and warned that the middle class would be under strong pressure. "We will have a dramatic fall in incomes. Jobs will not disappear, but their turnover will be limited," he said, predicting that the next stage will be automation and replacement of workers by systems and robots with "unlimited knowledge".
He made special reference to the personal experience that led him to deal in depth with artificial intelligence. As he revealed, his wife's incurable illness was a cause and his attempt to identify available clinical investigations and therapeutic options.
"It was a family tragedy. I had to look for what was in clinical investigations. Today her condition has stabilised, but without these tools I would not have succeeded. He was superior to human capabilities," he said. He even argued that with today's artificial intelligence tools "I would have finished researching my wife within a month.".
Skylakakis warned that artificial intelligence would create "unlimited wealth" but also "extreme inequalities", stressing that societies and political systems will need to form a new social contract.
"People give meaning to their lives through work. This piece in the next few years will go away and We should change education to manage the new reality," he noted.
