I'll try to keep my answer brief.
Yes, AI does come with unknowns. A modest stance would be to say that we don't quite know where we are headed. If we look at the past, we can find guideposts. You brought up the Industrial Revolution, which led to major advancements. However, the revolution occurred in the early 19th century—two centuries ago—without any groundwork being laid. It gave rise to more than a century of torment, more than a century of transitions and war, not to mention revolutions and, all told, millions of deaths. Government was completely overhauled.
If the Industrial Revolution taught us anything, it's that we need to address the period of transition that comes with technological advancement and new tools. Economist Joseph Schumpeter, whom you're probably familiar with, coined a relevant expression. He talked about the destructive transition, better known as creative destruction, meaning that something is destroyed in order to create new economic activities. Creative destruction can take a long time, and the destructive aspect is not necessarily appealing.
It's important to focus on the conditions for transition so that there are as few losers as possible. AI and the use of algorithms leads to tremendous progress, not just in medicine, but also with respect to repetitive tasks. That is something we should welcome, but we also need to prepare for the revolution.