Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff stated that he believes AI should be considered a “human right” at the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Yahoo Finance reports that in a recent appearance at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Marc Benioff, the co-founder and CEO of Salesforce, brought a unique perspective to the ongoing debate about artificial intelligence. “I think AI has to be almost a human right,” Benioff said speaking to Yahoo Finance Live at the WEF adding: “I’ve actually been saying that for decades that AI could be a creator of inequality. It could also be a creator of equality.” This dual nature of AI, as both a benefactor and a disruptor, was a key topic at this year’s WEF, where the focus was on its impact on job markets and the possibility of it leading to greater inequality.
Marc Benioff, chairman and chief executive officer of Salesforce.com Inc., gestures during a panel session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland (Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Highlighting the influence of AI, a new report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicated that about 40 percent of global employment is susceptible to AI replacement, with a staggering 60 percent of jobs in advanced economies at risk. The risk is relatively lower in emerging markets and low-income countries, standing at 40 percent and 26 percent. However, the IMF warns that these regions, while facing less immediate disruption from AI, might experience larger digital divides and cross-country income disparities as they capitalize on AI’s advantages.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, brought attention to the potential outsized impact of AI on older workers, suggesting an increased need for better social safety nets. The disruptive effect of AI was also highlighted Cloudflare co-founder and CEO Matthew Prince who told Yahoo Finance Live: “I think that AI is going to change a lot of what we do. I think there’s going to be a lot of displacement of some people’s jobs that are like with almost any technology that comes out.”
Microsoft co-founder and noted creep Bill Gates discussed AI’s positive impact on productivity. In an interview, he highlighted significant improvements, particularly among coders, stating: “I have found it’s a real productivity increase… likewise, for coders, you’re seeing 40%, 50% productivity improvements which means you can get programs [done] sooner. You can make them higher quality and make them better. So mostly what we’ll see is that the productivity of white-collar [workers] will go up.”
Read more at Yahoo Finance here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.