With the advancement of technology, it makes sense that some tasks would be simplified or even cease to exist. Since the beginning industrial Revolution, there were threats that new machines such as power looms would take over human jobs. However, for the most part, humans continue to make up the majority of the workforce. Now, some experts say that with the ubiquitous Artificial intelligence on the horizon, the threat looms: robots are really coming to take over some jobs.
A Goldman Sachs report from March 2023 estimates that AI is capable of generating content, could do a quarter of all the work people do today. The report further notes that across the European Union and the US, 300 million jobs could be lost due to automation. And that could be terrible, says Martin Ford, author of Rule of the Robots: How Artificial Intelligence Will Transform Everything.
“It’s not just that this happens to people, it could be quite a few. systemiche says. “I could it happens to a lot of peoplepossibly enough suddenlypossibly to some at the same time. And this has implications not only for these individuals, but also for the whole economy».
Fortunately, it’s not all bad news. Experts warn with a warning that there are still things that artificial intelligence is not capable of doing or thinking. Such tasks are those that require distinctly human qualities, such as emotional intelligence and creative thinking. And moving into roles that focus on those skills could help reduce the chances of replacement.
science, medicine, law
“I think there is generally three categories that will not be replaced in the foreseeable future,” says Ford. “The first thing would be The works that are really creative: you’re not doing standard tasks or just rearranging things, you’re actually coming up with new ideas and building something new.”
This does not necessarily mean that all works considered “creative” are safe. Basic algorithms can direct a robot to analyze millions of images, allowing the artificial intelligence to master aesthetics instantly. But there is some safety in other kinds of creativity, says Ford: “in sciencehe medicine and the legal…people whose job it is to come up with a new legal strategy or business strategy. I think there will continue to be a place for people there.”
Positions that require sophisticated interpersonal relationships
The second category, he continues, are the jobs that require sophisticated interpersonal relationships. points them out nursesthem business consultants and the investigative journalists. These are jobs, he says, “where you need a very deep understanding of people. I think it will be a long time before the AI gets it. ability to interact in ways that really build relationships.”
Positions that require the ability to solve problems in unpredictable environments
The third safe zone, says Ford, “are the jobs that really require a lot of mobility and dexterity and ability to solve problems in unpredictable environments». Lots of commercial jobs, think electricians, plumbers, welders and the like, falls under this umbrella. “They’re the kind of jobs where you’re constantly faced with new situations,” she adds. “They are probably the hardest to automate. To automate such jobs, you would need a sci-fi robot.”
While humans are likely to remain in jobs that fall into these categories, that doesn’t mean these occupations are completely insulated from the rise of artificial intelligence. In fact, says Joanne Song McLaughlin, an associate professor of labor economics at the University at Buffalo in the US, most jobs, regardless of industry, have aspects that are likely to be automated by technology.
Artificial intelligence – human collaboration
“In many cases, there is no immediate threat to jobs,” he says, “but the tasks will change.” Human jobs will focus more on interpersonal skills, continues Song McLaughlin. “It is easy to imagine that, for example, AI will detect cancers much better than humans. In the future, I assume that doctors will use this new technology. But I don’t think the whole role of the doctor will be replaced.”
While a robot could apparently do a better job of finding cancer, he says, most people will still want a doctor, a real person, to tell them. This is true of almost all jobs, he adds, so developing these distinctly human skills could help humans learn to do their jobs alongside AI.
“I think it’s smart to think ‘what tasks in my job will be replaced or enhanced by a computer or artificial intelligence?’ What are my complementary skills?For example, bank tellers once had to be very precise when counting money. Now, this task has been automated, but there is still a position for the cashier. “The job of counting money was made obsolete by a machine,” he says. “But now, tellers are more focused on connecting with customers and introducing new products. Social skill has become more important.”
It is important to note, says Ford, that an advanced education or a well-paying position is not a defense against an AI takeover. “We might think that the person who has a high-ranking job is higher up the ‘food chain’ than someone who drives a car for a living,” she says. “But the future of the employee position is more threatened than the Uber driver position because we still don’t have driverless cars, but the AI can certainly write reports. Think about the person who works cleaning hotel rooms: it is very difficult to automate that work”.
In short, looking for roles in dynamic and changing environments that involve unpredictable tasks is a good way to prevent loss of jobs of artificial intelligence. At least for a while.