Navigating the tipping point across AI, business and humanity

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As promising as it may seem, the emergence of AI has also raised unsettling concerns, particularly over the massive unemployment it may cause. Reports suggest that as many as 40 per cent of jobs worldwide could be affected by AI. When Geoffrey Hinton, the “Godfather of AI” stepped down from Google in 2023, the potential threats of AI to humanity became more tangible than just science fiction.

As AI continues to rapidly evolve, how can leaders ride the tide of AI and take their business to new heights? How will AI transform the nature of work, and what unique values can humans contribute to this changing landscape? Will AI lead to breakthroughs to pressing global issues, or will it exacerbate the digital divide between the developing and developed nations?

To code, or not to code

The recent exponential growth of AI in business was largely driven by widespread labour shortages stemming from COVID-19. As the pandemic subsided, different industries are adopting AI at varying paces with twists and turns along the trajectory.

“Take the hospitality industry as an example. There was a spike in the use of robotics in hotels and restaurants shortly after the pandemic broke out,” says Professor Choi Sungwoo, an assistant professor specialising in robotics in hospitality from the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School.

However, through trial and error, some hotels that fully automated their services have since scaled back their use of robots. Despite the substantial benefits AI offers, it is clear that human touch and personalised service remain central to customer expectations. “Guests staying in a luxurious hotel for family vacation would, for example, prefer receiving friendly smiles and having caring dialogues with human staff to interacting with machines.”
 
Professor Choi adds, “On the other hand, hotels catering for business travellers and conference goers who prioritise efficiency will have more room for AI application.” The industry is working to dissect the customer experience, deploying machines to perform operations that require efficiency and standardised service. “For example, nowadays you can interact with advanced chatbots for a wide range of customer service requests, such as making hotel reservations as if you were talking with a human.”