Artificial Intelligence - Automating Decision Making

When reflecting on the practice of engineering, we could perhaps say that engineering is all about creating technical devices that do the work for us. 

This is the same as to say – engineering is about creating devices that automate human activity.

More laconically – engineering is about automation.

Philosophically – engineering is about subduing the forces of nature to humanity.

The history of automation could be perhaps told in the following way:

1.     Automation of Manual Work – Production conveyor, CNC machines, robots, …

2.     Automation of Transportation – Autonomous Vehicles, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

3.     Automation of Office Work

a.     Office support Work – MS Office, Open Project, Runn.io, …

b.     Administrative support work – File Maker, Oracle, Office Automation Software, …

c.     Design support work – Computer Aided Design software (SolidWorks, Altium Design, LabVIEW, …)

With artificial intelligence, a new type of work is being automated – “Decision Making” work.  

Now we have these levels of automation:

1.     Automation of Manual Work – Production conveyor, CNC machines, robots, …

2.     Automation of Transportation – Autonomous Vehicles, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

3.     Automation of Office Work

a.     Office support Work – MS Office, Open Project, Runn.io, …

b.     Administrative support work – File Maker, Oracle, Office Automation Software, …

c.     Design support work – Computer Aided Design software (SolidWorks, Altium Design, LabVIEW, …)

d.     Decision Making

Simple examples of management decisions that could be automated with AI:

·       Imagine that you don’t have to wait for management to approve a procurement request; AI will do the approval.

·       Imagine that you don’t have to wait for management for travel approval; AI will do the approval.

·       Imagine that you don’t have to wait for management approval for trade show participation; AI will do the approval.

·       Imagine that you don’t have to wait for management approval to accept a project; AI will do the approval.

·       …

These are things that AI can automate and the function of management may, with time, disappear.

The following question, then, arises -  if all work will be automated, then what is there left for people to do?

At first sight, we may think that humanity is being pushed out more and more.

But this is may not be correct.  What is happening is that humanity is being pushed more and more into creative work.  In this sense, humanity is getting rid of all repetitive and manual work.  And at the end, mankind really reaches its real calling – pure creation.  And it is here that we truly become what the bible calls the image of God – pure act of creation.

Thus the only work that remains is the “creative work”.

1.     Manual Work

2.     Office Work

3.     Creative Work

And engineers finally get into a state where they can fully and totally engage in what they want to do – pure creative work.  And here the engineer will become also the artist, and the artist will become the engineer.

We may say that AI has already started doing creative work.  Yes, this might be true.  Hence, even in the act of creation we will be pushed into higher and higher levels of creation.  And we may also say that AI cannot make all the decisions.  Yes, this might be also true.  Hence, in the decision making we will be pushed into ever more complex decision making that AI can still not do.

Warning:

If at the end, humanity will be totally engaed in only creativity, then there must be a full overhaul of the education approach in both school and university.  The skills must be that of creation, the mindset must be that of creativity.

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