5 Benefits of AI to Know in 2026 (+ 3 Risks to Watch Out For)

Key takeaways

• The benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) include the ability to automate repetitive tasks, quickly analyze large volumes of data, improve decision-making, generate content faster, and increase operational efficiency.

• The benefits of AI in health care include improving diagnostic accuracy and patient experiences, and potentially enhancing how the industry handles the large volumes of data it processes.

• Creating code, designs, and other visuals, and generating simple writing are among the benefits of generative AI, which can free employees to focus on tasks requiring more creativity.

The benefits of AI and its potential limitations are critical to keep in mind as you consider implementing the technology. Explore what AI is and learn more about its potential benefits and the possible downsides in the article below.

Then, start building your AI awareness and skills by enrolling in the Google AI Essentials Specialization. It's a beginner-level program designed to build in-depth knowledge and offers an opportunity to gain experience using generative AI tools, writing prompts, and learning about responsible AI use.

Artificial intelligence 101

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to technology that enables computer systems to perform cognitively complex tasks that were traditionally performed only by humans, such as identifying patterns in a data set,making predictions, or composing a piece of writing. In other words, AI is all about making machines and digital systems that can dynamically respond to and learn from their tasks rather than simply performing the same exact procedure over and over again without change.

That’s not to say that you should expect to have an in-depth conversation about quantum mechanics with your electric toothbrush any time soon. Although it is advancing quickly, AI is still in its infancy and can only be used to accomplish certain narrow tasks. Today, the type of AI that you typically interact with is really an example of weak AI, also called “narrow AI,” which is essentially AI that can perform a handful of very specific tasks, like making chess moves,analyzing data, and translating text from one language to another.

Nonetheless, AI capabilities continue expanding. Additionally, individuals and industries increasingly embrace and adopt the technology as it becomes capable of performing a range of different, increasingly complex tasks.

From personalized song recommendations to chatbots, virtual assistants, and self-driving cars, artificial intelligence (AI) is all around us. Yet, despite experiencing many of these conveniences in our daily lives, you might still be wondering: what are the benefits of AI, really? And, is it all positive, or are there actually some dangers to it?

What are the benefits of AI?

AI provides many benefits to individuals and organizations alike, including the ability to automate repetitive tasks and create various types of content faster. As AI technology evolves, its use cases also expand. Some of the benefits you can expect to gain from AI today and in the near future include the following.

1. Automate repetitive tasks

Many of our days are filled with repetitive and often mundane tasks that must be completed to keep things running smoothly. From paying bills to organizing and managing tedious data sets, you have to complete countless tasks at work and in your everyday lives to do the stuff that really interests you, whether that be exploring a hobby or producing original research.

Fortunately, AI can automate many of these repetitive tasks so that you have more time to focus on the stimulating, impactful, and enjoyable aspects of our work and life. In fact, AI is already being used to cut down on wait times in call centers, grade certain kinds of school assignments, and extract, merge, and manage data from multiple sources into easy-to-understand reports.

2. Quickly analyze big data sets

Data is essential to the daily operations of countless organizations worldwide. Yet, while many businesses and individuals know the value of big data, few are able to effectively analyze their data and identify the kinds of insights they need to make the most impactful decisions. As a result, many companies leave big data sets untouched as they struggle to understand how best to manage the data they already have, let alone those sets that are growing by the day, hour, or even minute.

AI is capable of quickly analyzing these large data sets and helping organizations to better understand what they’re telling them. By identifying the patterns and trends that lie within these untouched and underutilized data sets, AI can help organizations do everything from improving the customer experience in a retail store to predicting the fluctuations of seasonal sales and designing effective social media marketing campaigns, among many other things.

What can AI do? Benefits of AI in health care

The health care industry is awash in valuable data. In addition to containing patient records that essentially track an individual’s health outcomes over time, health care facilities also contain large stores of diagnostic images, transactional payments, and demographic information. In effect, AI can have an oversized impact on how the health care industry operates and provides patient care. 

Some of the benefits AI may provide in the health care industry include improved operational efficiency of health facilities, better patient experiences, and greater diagnostic accuracy.

Read more:

3. Improve decision-making

Organizations use data to gain valuable insights and guide their decision-making process. However, as noted in the above section, many struggle to effectively analyze their currently available data to gain the insights they need to make such impactful decisions.

Leveraging data analytics, AI applications can equip organizations with near-real-time, actionable insights that can help them make informed decisions. Today, AI is used to help guide decisions regarding everything from customer service to investment management and health diagnoses, among many other things.

4. Quickly generate new material

Writing, coding, and designing visuals are time-consuming processes. Today, many writers, programmers, designers, and artists spend a large amount of their time completing tedious tasks, such as composing simple web copy, creating basic designs, and implementing elementary code. Rather than fully utilizing the skill sets of these skilled workers, employers often require them to do work that is critical for their business operations but doesn’t fully take advantage of their skills.

Generative AI, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E, allows workers and employers to quickly create simple text, code, and visuals via simple prompts. In turn, this allows organizations to quickly generate simple writing, code, and designs while their employees work on more complex assignments requiring greater creativity and insight.

5. Reduce operational costs

Running a business can be expensive. In addition to requiring a skilled workforce, employers must also invest in programs, systems, and infrastructure (among other things) to ensure that they can operate effectively. As a result, many employers strategically dedicate their resources to a handful of core areas that are necessary to keep their business running but may not help them achieve their biggest goals.

AI can help organizations reduce their operational costs by automating certain repetitive tasks that typically require a developed workforce to perform. At the same time, AI can assist employees by completing the most mundane aspects of their work so that they can add greater value to the organization with more specialized efforts. In effect, many employers and employees may find they can do more with less.

The benefits of AI in education

Though it’s still in its early days, AI is already being used for educational purposes.

In addition to powering personalized learning programs, AI can expand access for learners who lack educational resources and provide real-time assessments of students’ learning progress, along with feedback on how they can improve. On Coursera, for example, an on-page chatbot is available to answer learners’ questions, helping them gain clarity on core concepts as they work through a course.

What are the cons of AI?

Though AI offers many benefits, its adoption also poses potential downsides, including potential for bias, diminished creativity, and possible disruption to the job market. While how AI will ultimately impact our society remains largely unknown, you should be aware of these potential cons before adopting it in your workplace or personal life.

1. Potential job disruption

While many employers may be happy to cut costs by replacing employees with AI, workers are understandably less thrilled about the prospect. And, the job disruption could potentially be significant. According to 2026 research from Goldman Sachs, approximately 300 million global jobs may be exposed to AI automation, with the potential for AI to automate up to 25 percent of workers' tasks in the US [1].

Despite this potential disruption, researchers optimistically note that technological disruptions also typically generate new jobs at the same time that they’re making others obsolete. Yet, for some professionals who have spent years or decades in a particular field and career, such news may be little cause for celebration. Still, AI has the potential to augment many professions, reshaping them rather than replacing them entirely.

2. Bias and skewed perspectives

AI is dependent on data to make decisions and accomplish tasks. However, just as humans can be guided by personal biases, so too can AI programs.

At their core, the machine learning models that power many of the AI services people use every day are sophisticated algorithms trained on data sets to accomplish a particular task. As a result, AI is profoundly impacted by the data sets on which it is trained and can potentially reflect the biases ingrained within that data itself. This can lead AI to make decisions or generate content based on harmful stereotypes, prejudices, and outright fabrications rather than objective facts.

3. Lack of creativity

Generative AI like ChatGPT and DALL-E can quickly produce content with just a simple prompt. But while the results may be almost instantaneous, they can often lack the creativity and polish of those created by skilled professionals.

This lack of creativity is due to generative AI's reliance on statistical models to produce outputs based on its prompts. This means that rather than reflecting a unique artistic perspective, the AI produces content that provides the best statistical match for the prompt based on its training data. As a result, the text, images, music, or videos produced by AI often lack the originality that defines the most engaging, beloved, and entertaining work.

In effect, organizations hoping to employ generative AI may be wise to limit its scope and rely on the expertise of creative professionals to direct the development and refinement of AI-generated content.

Strong AI: Are we there yet?

Strong AI, or artificial general intelligence (AGI), AI that can perform many different complex tasks simultaneously, pose questions to itself, and even learn more about the world to match human intelligence, is still only theoretical and has not yet been achieved. Even further away isartificial superintelligence (ASI), or AI that far surpasses human intelligence.

Explore our free AI resources

Keep your finger on the pulse of emerging technologies, in-demand skills, and new career paths with a subscription to Career Chat, our weekly LinkedIn newsletter. Also, check out our free resources to continue learning about AI's applications and benefits.

• Learn from an expert: The AI Advantage: 9 Questions with UC Davis AI Instructor Sadie St. Lawrence

• Watch on YouTube: 3 AI Skills Anyone Can Start Learning Today

• Find your path: AI Career Quiz: Is It Right for You? Find Your Role

You can also learn more about different types of AI, AI-related skills and tools, and more with a subscription to Coursera Plus. Sign up for a monthly or annual plan for access to more than 10,000 flexible programs from over 350 esteemed partners.