KUCHING: The rapid emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has revolutionised various industries, offering an ever-expanding range of applications today.
However, the question remains: will AI ultimately replace humans in the workforce?
Cletus de Rozario, a trainer and consultant with expertise in Industry 4.0, digital transformation and AI strategy in a recent conversation with the Sarawak Tribune, highlighted the importance of embracing AI rather than fearing it.
“People should embrace AI. That should be the key thing because AI is something that you work together with.
“Never be afraid of something that is going to benefit you. So the attitude of embracing it is always the better side of it.
“Of course, if you want to challenge it, you will never win. Because technology is just like a wave that comes. You either ride the wave or try to fight it, and history tells us that if you fight progress, you never win” he said.
AI’s impact on jobs and lifestyles
On AI’s influence on employment, Cletus said AI would inevitably affect certain types of jobs, particularly those that are monotonous and mundane.
However, he pointed out that this shift presents opportunities for individuals to up skill and step up their work.
“You need to be better. Use AI to assist you, to get you going when it comes to technology.
“The thing is whether it affects your job depends on you because you have an assistant, your AI has got so much to offer.
“By stepping up your game, you put yourself in a better position to handle changes brought by AI,” he said.
When asked about students using AI tools for assignments, Cletus advocated for encouraging their use in a constructive way.
“Students should be encouraged to use AI to learn and benefit from it, not to let it do their work for them.
“If AI makes you lazier, it works against you. But if you learn to work in partnership with AI, it’s an advantage as they enter the workforce,” he said.
AI in the print media
Addressing the role of AI in the print media industry, Cletus highlighted its potential to tackle current challenges, such as catering to diverse audiences and conducting sentiment analysis.
“AI has a couple of capabilities. So, you need to identify your problem and see how these capabilities of AI fits into you.
“So, in the journalist world, this is something exciting. Will journalists lose their jobs? No, it steps up the game for journalists.
“Now, you’ve got a tool or a partner that can do so much more with regards to research, analysing information, and more,” he said.
In the past, he said certain tasks would take journalists a considerable amount of time to complete.
However, he said with AI tools now available, they can streamline processes, save time, and focus on more critical aspects of their work.
Advice for embracing AI
Cletus’s advice to individuals is to embrace AI.
“AI has put us on the same playing field with everyone else. You are given this technology that has got vast potential and it’s tapping into that potential.
“If you do not know how to tap into it. So learning to use AI is a skill in itself. Be more exposed to it, understand its benefits,” he said.
He said AI is still a very new area and people have to prepare for it, such as the challenges related to it, governance and policies.
“Again, the word embrace comes up, where you just need to embrace it. But embrace it with the intention of knowing what you want to do with it,” he said.
He also acknowledged the fear associated with AI, often stemming from the unknown.
“The question is why are people afraid or don’t want to embrace AI? I think there’s a lot of fear attached to it.
“So, I think it’s a kind of culture of progress and innovation that people need to adapt to. In order to move forward when you are given such a tool, you must learn to look at it, understand it and adapt to it which is crucial for progress,” said Cletus.
Recently, Cletus conducted a training session for over 20 local journalists on leveraging AI in their work.
Held from Jan 7 to 8, the ‘Artificial Intelligence: Empowering Journalists on Content and Newsroom Management’ workshop was organised by the Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) with the support from Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
During the workshop’s closing session, MPI president Datuk Yong Soo Heong also encouraged journalists to view AI as a valuable partner.
He urged those in the media industry not to fear the rise of AI but instead embrace it.
“AI should be seen as a ‘friend’ that helps those in the industry to become better journalists, writers and presenters,” he said.
