As I near retirement age, I had no interest in AI. I said to myself, it doesn’t effect me. Then I got a rude awakening when I started to research AI in my field of work, accounting. I already use several AI apps which I didn’t even know were AI. I also have an Alexa, which again, I didn’t realize was AI. I thought AI was such a scary world. I’m finding out it’s not so bad after all. AI is here to stay whether I like it or not, so I may as well embrace it.
According to a blog post by rockcontent, it lists the pros and cons of AI. Let’s start with the pros. First it diminishes human error. Of course it does, it doesn’t get fatigued or hungry, it just pumps out information 24/7. Secondly, automates repetition. My job has a ton of repetitive tasks that would greatly benefit of a good automation. Thirdly, it provides digital assistants. I don’t like this feature much. I would much rather talk to a real person than have to press a bunch of numbers to get to where I want to go or who I want to talk to. I guess I’m old fashioned that way. Lastly, it excels at working with large sets of data. I quote from rockcontent, “The more data available, the more AI is needed to make sense of it all in less time…It can both acquire and extract data rapidly, but that’s not all. From there, AI takes the data further with interpretation and transformation.”
Now for the cons that are listed (and I’ve only included a few). First, it reduces employment. We see that once things become automated, it takes fewer employees. That is proven by what happened in the industrial age. Secondly, it lacks creative ability. This con is a given. AI is wonderful, but not creative and free thinking like humans. Which brings us to the next point, it has no emotion. I wrote an email today and asked AI to make it more creative. It sucked. It didn’t sound like me, or any other human. Maybe a really sappy human. Next, what about the huge amounts of data and how is the privacy and security thing going to happen. Privacy is a huge thing right now. So with the emergence of AI, there must be elaborate security systems developed to protect all this information.
One thing for certain, AI can never completely replace humans. AI and humans make a great team.
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4 responses to “AI in Accounting”
Experts have mixed views on AI’s impact on human autonomy and capabilities when it comes to the idea that humans will never be replaced. As Marina Gorbis, executive director of the Institute for the Future, noted, “Without significant changes in our political economy and data governance regimes [AI] is likely to create greater economic inequalities, more surveillance and more programmed and non-human-centric interactions”. This highlights the need for a more nuanced and evidence-based approach when discussing AI’s potential to replace human functions.
Anderson, J., & Rainie, L, (2018). Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humans. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/12/10/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-humans/
“First, it reduces employment” as stated by Dianne in her blog. We are eventually going to get into this so here we go…
Seems like we have heard this before: “People say, ‘It’ll end labor as we know it,’ or ‘Data is the new oil’ — all these catchphrases.
In study done by Laura Veldkamp from Columbia Business School and the National Bureau of Economic Research and Simona ABis from the University of Colorado Boulder, they found these catch phrases to be just that – catch phrases. The paper they published called “The Changing Economics of Knowledge Production, the key takeaways were:
– The rise of artificial intelligence and big data technologies may prove almost as transformative to the economy as the Industrial Revolution.
– In the investment management industry, the adoption of AI and other big data technologies leads to around a 5 percent decline in the labor share of income, potentially intensifying economic disparities.
– However, AI’s rise isn’t synonymous with job loss — new roles and industries are expected to emerge, and early evidence suggests AI can boost worker productivity. What’s more, workers can add tens of thousands of dollars to their annual income potential by gaining AI skills with tools like Python and Tensorflow.
AI may redistribute jobs but the projections of massive unemployment are exaggerated. I believe we will see less than 5% increase in unemployment.
The advantages I mention, such as reducing human error and automating repetitive tasks, are well-documented. According to a report by McKinsey, automation can significantly improve productivity by allowing professionals to focus on more complex tasks (McKinsey & Company, 2021). Additionally, AI’s ability to analyze large datasets quickly is a game-changer in industries that rely heavily on data, as highlighted by researchers in the Harvard Business Review (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2014).
I raise valid points about the downsides as well. The concern regarding job displacement is a critical issue, with historical precedents seen during the industrial revolution. A study from the World Economic Forum highlights that while AI can create new job opportunities, it can also lead to the elimination of roles traditionally performed by humans (World Economic Forum, 2020). My observations about AI lacking emotional and creative capabilities are also shared by experts, who argue that human qualities like empathy and creativity remain unique to us (Katz, 2020).
Lastly, the importance of privacy and security in the age of AI cannot be overstated. As AI systems process vast amounts of sensitive information, robust security measures are essential. Experts emphasize the need for strong data governance frameworks to mitigate risks (csrc.nist.gov, 2023).
My conclusion that AI and humans can work as a complementary team resonates strongly with current thought in the field. By leveraging AI’s strengths while maintaining human oversight, we can create a more efficient and innovative future.
References:
McKinsey & Company. “The Future of Work After COVID-19.” McKinsey, 2021.
Brynjolfsson, Erik, and Andrew McAfee. “The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies.” Harvard Business Review Press, 2014.
World Economic Forum. “The Future of Jobs Report 2020.” World Economic Forum, 2020.
Katz, Daniel. “The Human Touch: Creativity and Emotion in the AI Era.” Journal of AI Ethics, vol. 1, no. 2, 2020.
NIST. “Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity.” NIST, 2023.
Thanks again for sharing your reflections!
Per the Dial Zara (2024) site, Goldman Sachs estimates that some 300 Million customer service jobs will be lost to AI as Agentic AI becomes more capable of acting as if it is a human. As many of these workers are not well educated and have very few options for re-employment, the impact of this segment of the workforce is significant. While many will espouse that humans are resilient, and will find other work, such work is likely to be unskilled physical labor that will likely not pay a living wage,
Dial Zara. (2024, May 10). AI in Customer Service: Impact on Jobs 2024. https://dialzara.com/blog/ai-in-customer-service-impact-on-jobs-2024/