Band 6+: Many companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to replace human workers. Do you think the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

In the recent years, replacement of the human workforce with artificial intelligence has been a widely debated topic in the industry. Artificial intelligence have been very efficient in performing various tasks across multiple sectors. Ever since 2020, AI systems have caused a lot of changes in the workforce, where many companies are adapting to the technology and automation and replacing their employees with AI systems. I believe that this trend carries more merits than demerits, as it can benefit our society is unexpected ways.

Organisation use AI for various tasks to improve performance and revenue. To name a few, a customer service representative has been replaced by a chatbot to help resolve customer queries. This in result has in many cases, decreased the problem resolution time, and in turn increased revenue for the company as they do not have to pay for a human employee. AI has been reliable with mundane tasks such as data entry, restructuring information and helping customers. While many may argue that the unemployment rate has been increasing due to this reason, it can also be observed that the human workforce is quickly adopting to these changes and individuals are restructuring their skills. Many software engineers have transformed to AI architects by upskilling themselves with the fast-evolving AI technology. By doing so, they continue to contribute to the society and the economy.

In contrast, while, AI use by companies has drastically increased, it can not be used in every context. AI systems lack privacy and safety guardrails. This puts the confidential information of the organisation at threat and security risks. Furthermore, AI systems required a lot of human engineering to be built, and consume a lot of power and resources. There has been various reports where AI systems leaked private company information into the dark web. This has led to many debates about the safety and privacy of AI systems.

Given the demerits, I believe replacing employees with AI systems has more advantages than disadvantages, as it helps restructure the workforce and increase productivity. This in turn, benefits the society by contributing to the economy.