The world stage is being set for one of the greatest developments in contemporary history: disruptive governmental changes, increasingly rapid structural changes in the economy, industry and services, careers designed from a global perspective, trade in intercontinental markets and the dematerialization of currency lead us to claim that we are living in an era where change is the main premise. On the practical side, one of the great advances of the century was the evolution of technology into what we know today. And the evolution of the machine, encouraged by human curiosity, has brought us Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is believed that AI took its first steps in 1950 with the publication of the paper Computing Machinery and Intelligence by Alan Turing, which questioned whether machines could, in fact, think. At the time, the task proved to be quite arduous. In just 5 years, three American scientists, Allen Newell, Cliff Shaw and Herbert Simon, started a project called Logic Theorist, where they tried to replicate human behavior in a machine, when faced with solving a particular problem. Since then, AI has evolved thanks to contributions from world figures, developing from bots (software that automates repetitive procedures) to Sophia, the world’s first robot citizen, who was present at the Web Summit and fronted an advertisement for a major Portuguese telecommunications company, ending with Doctor Assistant AI, developed by a Chinese organization.

The practical applications are varied and can help organizations in the process of creating value with a disruptive component, distinguishing themselves from their competitors. A recent study by McKinsey Global states that artificial intelligence could increase Gross World Product by 1.2% over the next decade and that 70% of organizations will adopt at least one form of this application.

From a purely economic point of view, there are many advantages to be gained. Organizations that make this bet are in possession of technology that improves processes, capacity and produces new forms of business. Through the questioning of calculations, statements and decisions that are invisible to the most attentive human eye, AI can have a series of practical applications that improve the day-to-day running of organizations. Examples include: automating a worker’s repetitive work; directly updating a customer’s file in the CRM system; no longer having to spend several hours collaborating to gain insights based on quantitative reports; new automated forms of new business; lead qualification based on a scoring system, reducing the customer’s sales cycle; more structured, faster and more efficient up-selling and cross-selling, forecasting results based on past records and even categorizing user profiles. With all these changes, organizations can channel their human resources into more valuable and important tasks for the day-to-day running of the organizations. The horizons are widening as technology evolves rapidly with more and more new applications and increased capabilities. The economic system is one of the most privileged as there are new business models and new revenue systems. It’s obvious that the cost of implementing these systems is substantial, the resources to be used are more than numerous and it’s always a long-term project, but disbelieve the most skeptical, the return on this investment is highly rewarding.

As with everything in life, there is a flip side to the coin: if we portray the positive aspects, it is imperative to talk about the problems associated with AI. One of the most discussed issues, which is intrinsic to this analysis, is the ethical and social aspect: should the machine replace humankind? Since we are the ones who program the machine, could it one day evolve and have human capacities, such as free will, or should this just be a characteristic of ours? Will the machine one day be able to make decisions without taking forgiveness or love into account, or will it just be cold in the decision-making process, executing commands? Could our jobs not be reduced because there could be robotic alternatives? What will be the impact of the possible introduction of robot taxation in organizations for those who have already made or are thinking of making investments in this area? And will the smaller players in the market be able to take part in this transformation or will they be doomed to extinction?

These questions and others can only be answered as time goes by. We know that there is still a considerable way to go, but if we reflect intensively on this matter, those same certainties are now replaced by fears. We know that these robotic mechanisms are here to stay, but for us humans who have inhabited this planet for over 200,000 years, the one-million-dollar question is: who will stay until the end of time? The master or the apprentice?