Will AI replace human workers? The CIA, Anthropic, OpenAI and Microsoft weigh in

Flanked by high-level employees from OpenAI, Microsoft and Anthropic, the CIA's chief artificial intelligence officer said that humans must remain “in the loop” as artificial intelligence tools become more powerful and prevalent.

CIA AI officer Lakshmi Raman said the agency is placing a strong emphasis on making sure AI is closely monitored for how it helps workers enhance their skills.

“It's all about how AI can assist and amplify the human, with the human keeping an eye on everything that's happening,” Ms Raman said during a panel discussion on Friday at the Billington Cybersecurity Conference in Washington.

Her comments come amid concerns that AI's ability to automate various processes that might lead to major labour disruptions and widespread unemployment.

Sean Batir, the panel discussions moderator and principal technology lead for Amazon Web Services, echoed those sentiments.

“There's definitely a fear of having these [AI] models in workplaces, and I think that role you mentioned of having humans always in the loop is one way to address that,” he said.

Jason Clinton, chief information security officer at Anthropic, said humans need to take a supervisory role with the implementations of AI, and that despite the ability of the technology to increase efficiencies, soft skills that only humans can offer will be paramount.

“You know, the one of the things that the models will never be able to do is to bring humanity to the equation,” Mr Clinton added.

Joseph Larson, the vice president of government at OpenAI, whose ChatGPT sent AI interest to unprecedented heights in 2022, said the company's goal is to develop the technology for the benefit of humanity, adding that OpenAI has hired a chief economist to look into potential economic ramifications.

Despite fears, Mr Larson said AI does not automatically mean a reduction of workers.

“It lends itself to creating more organisational output, like improved organisational output,” he added.

OpenAI, Microsoft and Anthropic, among others pouring billions into AI development have sought to expedite the adoption of their tools, but also provide ways for government workers, students and others to try to reduce the learning curve through various initiatives.

Those efforts, however, are coming up against mounting fears of redundancies, cutbacks and hiring slowdowns stemming in part from AI.

Recent studies have also led some to wonder if fears of AI’s potential impact on the labour sector are overblown.

An MIT Media Lab report recently stated that despite billions being spent over the past few years on AI investments, approximately 95 per cent of organisations have produced zero returns so far.

That report, however, has come under intense scrutiny over the methodology used to reach that conclusion.

Meanwhile, for US technology companies both old and new, and aspiring technology companies all over the world, the investment in AI shows no sign of slowing down.

For many humans, AI tools are slowly but surely becoming a part of their daily routines, even with polling suggesting many fears about what that could mean in the long term.