Twenty years later all the hype is back, but are we on the precipice of another AI winter?
Yes, but I predict a mild winter since AI is being infused into everything these days.
The hype will subside until the next major AI breakthrough — when true AI is achieved, and it starts asking itself its own questions. Or, in other related research, when bioengineers can connect microchips directly into our cerebral cortex, enhancing our own biological intelligence.
In the meantime, AI could have an outsized influence specifically on South Carolinians through advancement in life sciences and manufacturing which are dominant sectors of our economy.
Boston Dynamics “Spot” robots (four-legged dog-looking machines) have been handling material and performing inspections in the BMW plant in Spartanburg for a few years now. Fully autonomous forklifts move products around Nephron Pharmaceuticals in Columbia. Bosch in Charleston now employs full-time data scientists who mitigate production line downtime by applying advanced machine learning algorithms to the treasure trove of data generated by modern digital manufacturing environments. Companies like Rock Hill-based Delta Bravo AI are experts in these fields and have done fascinating work to help companies like Nucor be more efficient.
Heck, over 20 years ago medicine delivery robots were roaming the hallways of the Spartanburg Regional Hospital, where my wife used to work. I still recall her stories of a robot outside her office asking a chair to “please move.”
For life sciences and manufacturing to continue to dominate South Carolina’s economic development, these technologies must continue to evolve. AI will provide that evolutionary leap forward — if we are brave enough to take it and if we can produce enough energy to power it.
However, no energy should be spent on the age-old dogma of not embracing automation and new technologies because it takes away human jobs. History teaches us that all jobs are lost when local industry refuses to keep up with global technological advancements.
South Carolinians will benefit from new jobs and the societal and community amenities that come with them — if we choose to embrace this brave new world.
The educational sector of our economy must also evolve.
I predict it won’t be long until all universities in South Carolina have degrees in AI and cybersecurity to complement traditional computer science degrees.
As a step in that direction, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education has granted final approval for the state’s first bachelor’s degree program in AI and first bachelor’s degree program in financial technology, both at Winthrop. Building on degrees already in place like cybersecurity, web development, computer science and supply chain/logistics, the Rock Hill university is poised to build upon this portfolio into the advanced manufacturing engineering space.
Additionally, to be competitive in tomorrow’s workforce, all college graduates will eventually need to have a general education of applied AI. It will be a tool needed in everybody’s toolbox.
Resumes today commonly list technical skills such as proficiency in Microsoft Office products, while resumes of yesteryear used to boast typewriter words-per-minute skills. AI and cybersecurity will be ubiquitous in the resumes of tomorrow.
Dr. Sebastian van Delden is provost and vice president for academic affairs at Winthrop University. He is a professor of computer science who completed his dissertation on AI in 2003.
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