Artificial Intelligence Will Take Away Jobs and Disrupt Society, says Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath

The emergence of artificial general intelligence (AGI) brings both positive and negative implications. On the positive side, AGI has the potential to significantly enhance the productivity and effectiveness of professionals in various fields. By leveraging its capabilities, experts can achieve higher levels of efficiency and accomplish tasks more effectively than ever before.  However, alongside these advancements, the rise of AGI also raises valid concerns. One major worry is the potential loss of jobs due to automation. 

Along the same lines, Nithin Kamath, founder and CEO, Zerodha tweeted that while they would never fire any of their employees over a piece of technology, the concerns about AI taking away jobs and disrupting the society on the whole was real. “We’ve just created an internal AI policy to give clarity to the team, given the AI/job loss anxiety. This is our stance: We will not fire anyone on the team just because we have implemented a new piece of technology that makes an earlier job redundant. In 2021, we'd said that we hadn’t found AI use cases when everyone was claiming to be powered by AI without any AI. With recent breakthroughs in AI, we finally think AI will take away jobs and can disrupt society,” he said.

As AGI becomes more sophisticated, there is a risk that certain professions might be replaced by intelligent machines, leading to unemployment and economic disruption. This calls for thoughtful consideration of strategies to address the impact on the workforce and ensure a smooth transition to the era of AGI. Kamath, quoting an internal chat, said. “AI on its own won’t wake up and kill us all (for a while, at least!). The current capitalistic and economic systems will rapidly adopt AI, accelerating inequality and loss of human agency. That’s the immediate risk.” 

Another concern is the ethical and safety implications associated with AGI development. AGI systems possess immense computational power and may exhibit behaviors and decision-making processes that are difficult to predict or control. Ensuring that AGI systems align with human values, ethics, and safety standards becomes paramount to prevent unintended consequences or misuse of this powerful technology.  

“In today's capitalism, businesses prioritize shareholder value creation above stakeholders like employees, customers, vendors, the country, and the planet. Markets incentivize business leaders to prioritize profits over everything else; if not, shareholders vote them out. Many companies will likely let go of employees and blame it on AI. In the process, companies will earn more and make their shareholders wealthier, worsening wealth inequality. This isn't a good outcome for humanity,” opined Kamath.

Moreover, there are broader societal and philosophical concerns regarding AGI's impact on human existence. Questions about the potential loss of human uniqueness, the boundaries of consciousness, and the moral responsibility associated with creating highly intelligent machines raise profound ethical dilemmas that require careful reflection and regulation. “While the hope is for governments worldwide to put some guardrails, it may be unlikely given the deglobalization rhetoric. No country would want to sit idle while another becomes more powerful on the back of AI,” cautioned Kamath.

In summary, while the advent of artificial general intelligence offers significant benefits, such as improved professional efficiency, it also introduces legitimate concerns. It is crucial to address the potential socioeconomic impacts, ethical considerations, and philosophical questions associated with AGI to harness its potential for the betterment of humanity.