[SINGAPORE] There is a “non-zero chance” that artificial intelligence could surpass humans in certain aspects as the technology continues to improve, said TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi.
Although it may still be too early to conclude whether AI will displace humans, Chew said the world is only at the beginning of what AI can do, with humans yet to understand its impact on their lives.
“You can see a world where silicon is just superior to carbon; you can see a world where it will last longer; you know it’s more scalable,” Chew said at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference, held at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre on Monday (Oct 12).
Chew was speaking about unlocking human potential in the AI era in a dialogue with DBS group head of consumer banking and wealth management Shee Tse Koon.
His comments came amid rising concerns that AI will eventually displace human workers as corporates look to cut costs and increase productivity.
Still, there is an increasing belief in a combined human and AI workforce, rather than letting machines take complete full reign of all decisions, he noted.
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This comes amid short-term friction in current AI models that slows down the uptake of the machines to make decisions. However, looking at how fast AI is evolving, humans are likely to be underestimating AI’s capabilities, Chew said.
“It’s risky to think that just because it’s slow in the shorter term, that it will not become very important in the long term – that’s the wrong conclusion to take away,” he said.
Currently, AI can take over routine, low-stakes tasks, while frontier models can handle higher-stakes activities with appropriate guardrails. Human involvement is likely to remain necessary for tasks that involve high stakes or require differentiated judgement.
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In the longer term, AI agents will likely be allowed to do more tasks autonomously. It is therefore important for humans to remain curious about AI and gain hands-on experience with its tools in the short term, to develop the necessary skills.
For now, users need to pay closer attention to the risks, and more education is needed on the types of information provided to AI models. Meanwhile, corporates should pay more attention to rising cybersecurity risks.
“If you don’t use these products yourself, you cannot figure out what exactly you can or cannot do just by reading about (them),” he said.
In her opening speech at the conference, DBS CEO Tan Su Shan noted the rise in paradoxes in an increasingly polarised world. These included paradoxes surrounding knowledge and intelligence when it comes to AI.
AI has democratised knowledge, yet it will increase inequality especially among those who are unable to use it well, she said.
“There is the fear that as AI erodes a lot of jobs, the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and that’s not good for social stability,” she said.
Meanwhile, the worry of AI agents controlling the world is contrasting against a “utopian” reality where knowledge, resources and more are in abundance.
Tan said: “We are at this crossroads now of going the utopian or the dystopian way, and what we need now is for humans to exercise good judgement, good wisdom, good creativity to ensure that this AI journey that we take together as a human race will take up the right path.”