Pros:

There are a lot of negative sides on implementing AI in jobs, mostly because it costs an incredible amount of money. However, looking from and economic point of view, there are also some major advantages of using AI in jobs.

First of all, there would be no different in payment. Humans get a different salary according to their age and qualities. With robots, this is not the case since they don’t really have a date of birth so no age. Therefore, robots can all get the same salary with no exceptions. Some people even say we shouldn’t pay robots at all, since they are not humans and can’t do anything with the money, this is a fair point as well.

Second of all, robots can work much longer and more effective in comparison to humans. Machines don’t, unlike humans, need a break or refreshment. This makes them to work longer, causing the work to be done earlier. This can save a lot of money because time definitely costs money.

Another argument why AI can give economic advantages is the fact that machines/robots rarely make mistakes. Every human being makes mistakes, this can cause a great delay in the job that must be done. Again, this time costs a lot of money.

Going back to the total beginning of AI, these machines, who should be doing a lot of our work in the future, need to be made by somebody. This can and will definitely create enormous job opportunities, which can increase the economy in a very positive way.

Also, as I said before, machines can work much harder and more efficient, therefore they can produce more products and also faster. This can make a huge difference in the market, because when there is more of a certain product, it becomes cheaper and more people can afford to buy it. As you have read there are a lot of economic advantages of implementing AI in jobs.

Cons:

There will be less employment. The robots will take over other people’s jobs which will cause a lot of people to lose their jobs. This is a problem because once a person loses their job, they still need money in the form of an income supplement. This can be seen as a waste of money in a way. The people who receive the money mostly don’t produce a service in return, because they have no job. This can really be seen as a waste of resources of the government.

The employees will have to pay more taxes. In the Netherlands, the employees have to pay for the income supplements that will go to the people that are unable to work or the unemployed in general. Once more people lose their jobs, more money for the supplements is requested, while less people have to pay for it which will lead to a disaster for them too.

This one may seem a bit far-fetched, but the lack of employers will lead to our children being limitedly educated. Because many parents are unemployed, they won’t have enough money to pay for high school or college tuition. In Holland, primary and secondary schools are supplied by the government but once you want to go to college or university, you have to pay for the education yourself. When your parents don’t have enough money to send you to further education because they’re unemployed, children won’t be able to fulfill their learning abilities to the fullest which can be harmful for a country’s economy in the future.

Lastly, the application of Artificial Intelligence in jobs will lead to an increased amount of depressed people or humans with other psychological diseases. In general, a lack of work for a person, which can lead to boredom, can have serious mental problems for a human being. Think about depression and other mental illnesses. This is problematic for the government because they will have to put more money into taking care of these people, while the money can be spend in way more efficient ways.

Written by Bente Schreppers and Karlijn van Gisteren