By Edward Balassanian, CEO and Founder of Aimi
An air of apprehension and perception of threat to industries and professions surrounds Artificial Intelligence (AI). This perceived danger was part of the spark for the now-resolved writers’ strike and two class-action lawsuits filed against OpenAI and Google. As AI continues to impose itself across creative and professional disciplines, its potential harm, when wielded nefariously, can’t be ignored. However, viewing it only through the lens of uncertainty ignores its transformative potential as a tool for knowledge synthesis, equality, and as a technology that will ultimately shift how our society values knowledge.
AI has transformed into a strategic asset, holding the potential to reshape industries, create unique investment opportunities, and ultimately catalyze business transformation, providing stakeholders with unprecedented avenues for growth and success.
Knowledge accessibility changes what it means to be educated
In business, investors stand to gain by acknowledging AI’s role in democratizing knowledge. This process has consistently reshaped society, dating back to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century. Books, once the exclusive domain of the elite, led to an unprecedented spread of knowledge and ideas that fueled the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution.
Today, AI leans on the precipice of a similar transformation. For centuries, knowledge has been an instrument of power, often accessible only to those who can afford it. But AI, accessible to anyone with a browser, potentially changes this dynamic, breaking down barriers that have historically divided societies into the educated and the uneducated.
With barriers dismantled, AI becomes a strategic enabler, allowing businesses to tap into a global pool of talent and information. We can now redefine what it means to be educated. Formerly defined as “access to knowledge,” through AI, education will become the application of knowledge creatively, suggesting that using a left/right-brained approach to creativity is the future – much as Daniel Pink predicted in his book “A Whole New Mind.” With AI, we will move from a society built on the logical, routine-driven structures of the Information Age to an economy and a culture built on inventive, empathic, creative capabilities. Investors should observe this shift, recognizing that education in the AI era is not just about accessing knowledge but harnessing it for creativity, business innovation, and success.
AI will change the nature of what knowledge is valuable
A profound transformation is unfolding through machine learning and AI, redefining the traditional boundaries of knowledge. Retention of facts in the workplace will hold less value as intelligent technology makes it even easier to quickly find the answers, and businesses move from prioritizing engineers to emphasizing creative workers who can leverage AI to do the knowledge work for them. Mechanical application of knowledge unravels the constraints that delineate businesses, communities and cultures.
It will, in turn, create a society that elevates creativity and originality.
The future of knowledge in the workplace will be ranked by creativity
The advent of AI, however, is reshaping this landscape. A warning resonates for workers who solely engage in routine engineering tasks whose mechanical nature renders them susceptible to automation. The fundamental distinction continues to point back to the realm of creativity. This shift is emblematic of a more significant trend where creativity, empathy and EQ emerge as the token of success in a business environment increasingly overtaken by automation.
AI is emerging as the great equalizer, breaking down barriers of knowledge and empowering once underappreciated creative minds. The future of business innovation hinges upon those who can travel beyond knowledge synthesis and generate novel ideas, propelling businesses and industries to new levels of achievement.
As the saying goes, “Our job as scientists is to teach machines to do what humans do, so humans don’t have to do what machines can do.” This shift in perspective is not about diminishing human potential. It is about liberating creative minds from cumbersome and routine engineering tasks. AI’s advancement makes the boundary between the two realms less hazy. This alteration doesn’t curtail human aspiration. It redefines the roles, making space for creative expression to flourish.
Knowledge workers, who have historically monopolized education and acted as gatekeepers, will be replaced by middleware, a layer of AI hovering between humanity and knowledge, giving anyone access to knowledge and its synthesis, previously only available through extensive education and training.
Academic institutions, once serving as information control, are adapting to this by integrating AI into their processes. As the need for routine engineering tasks decreases, academic structures will realign to embrace a more creative-centric ethos, nurturing minds that go beyond the limits of synthesis. This transformation is extending beyond academia to business. The composition of a successful workforce is pivoting, valuing creative thinking over repetitive engineering tasks. This transition brings in a future where the creative ideators – those who create novel melodies, human sounds, and more creative concepts – may shine brighter than ever before in human history.
Expression and emotion will remain beyond the grasp of technology
AI’s capacity to generate a significant portion of work that was once solely within human scope magnifies the importance of uniquely human contributions. Creative endeavors that carry the essence of human emotion and artistry will always defy ML algorithms. HERO – Human-generated Emotional and Reflective Outputs – remains beyond the simplification of technology and includes the expressive and emotional aspects of human communication, whether through spoken or written language, facial movements or musical expression. These outputs encompass the emotions, feelings, thoughts and reflections people convey when communicating.
For investors and business leaders, these distinctions reveal the necessity of creative potential, an uncharted realm where machines falter. The recognition that machines can only synthesize based on existing data underscores the potential for people to break free from the mold and defy conventional thinking to elevate human innovation. It’s within this context that creativity’s importance becomes evident – a shift from replicating the known to envisioning the novel.
AI is nurturing a collective intelligence
Ultimately, AI is orchestrating a paradigm shift in our understanding of knowledge and power, catalyzing democratization across industries and cultures. It upholds creativity as the cornerstone of success and disrupts the dominance of routine engineering tasks. While there is a risk that the collective intelligence will be biased, the opportunity to elevate humanity out of toiling in repetitive tasks is worth it. Investors and business leaders should recognize AI as a strategic force causing industrial democratization.
Championing creativity as the cornerstone of success opens new avenues for strategic investment.
Simultaneously, AI is breaking down informational barriers, rendering knowledge more accessible and fostering collaboration across disparate communities. The fusion of creativity and technology paves the way for a future where expertise is attainable and innovation is boundless. As AI evolves, its role as an equalizer of knowledge and power is poised to reshape industries, societies, and the essence of human achievement, based predominantly on creativity.
About the author:
With more than 25 years of experience in the technology industry, Edward Balassanian has founded and funded numerous startups ranging from operating systems to consumer packaged goods. He most recently founded Aimi, the groundbreaking new music platform that allows fans to enjoy immersive listening experiences while providing artists a new medium to create and monetize AI-powered music. Prior to Aimi, Edward founded startups, including BeComm Corporation, a pioneer in building operating systems for digital devices, Be Labs, an IP-centric incubator, Vital Juice, a Food Manufacturing company, and Strings Inc, a content publishing platform, among others. A graduate of the University of Washington with Distinction in Computer Science, Edward started his career at Microsoft where he worked from 1990-1995. He is the named inventor of over 80 patents in technologies ranging from gesture interfaces, networking, distributed processing, and digital music synthesis.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.