A survey of over 2,800 developers conducted by Packt in August 2018 reveals a high level of confidence about the impact of artificial intelligence, in particular with regard to automation.

This is a timely survey given that the World Economic forum, in its The Future of Jobs Report 2018, has disclosed that AI and robotics will create almost 60 million more jobs that they destroy by 2022. The Packt AI Now report refers to 800 million jobs being lost by 2030 due to artificial intelligence allowing jobs to be automated.

Answering a question about the impact of automation on their careers, three quarters of respondents thought it would have a positive impact, compared to only 4% who thought the impact would be negative. 

Asked about the impact of AI on society, a smaller proportion, two thirds, considered it would be positive and 12% foresaw negative consequences.   

Looking further into the future, respondents were asked about AGI, Artificial General Intelligence is a level of intelligence that can successfully mimic a human’s and isn’t restricted to a particular purpose. Specifically they were asked when they thought AGI would be achieved.

Only 5% of those surveyed thought AGI was impossible, half the rest thought it would be achieved within 30 years and over three quarters within 50 years.

Other questions in the survey addressed now and the near future. While only 28% of respondents already use AI tools, only 25% have no plans learn about new AI tools in the coming year. 

Another question was about the challenges posed by AI:

Having enough time and high quality data emerged as the biggest barriers, followed by knowing which tools and frameworks to invest in.

More Information

AI Now: Survey Results

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