Artificial Intelligence and the Jobs of Tomorrow: Threat or Boon?

Future of Industry

Sci-fi movies and novels have played a defining role in instilling fear in the hearts of many. Will robots take over the world? Will AI take away our jobs? Yes and no.

Artificial intelligence is already playing a big part in our lives today. It has been steadily supporting most of our applications and has been very successful in improving the way we do things. Industrial automation, data analysis, social media engagement, hyper-automation, autonomous vehicles, banking, and healthcare are some of the sectors where artificial intelligence has shown its prowess. Since AI has been revolutionizing the way tasks are executed, certain jobs are set to see some changes.

  • Which are the jobs at risk?
  • Jobs that AI has completely taken over
  • Which ones will be aided by AI?
  • Why does it require humans if it is that smart?

Which are the jobs at risk?


Artificial intelligence will take over some jobs -that’s a given. But there is no need to panic just yet. Mundane and repetitive jobs such as data entry, customer service, budget analysis, library management, telemarketing, freight agents, sports referees, tax preparers, courier delivery systems, underwriters, real estate brokering, and certain healthcare tasks are set to be the ones that will be replaced by AI-based systems in the near future. AI systems are set to replace certain jobs because they are relentless, dependable, less prone to error, can perform dangerous tasks without the need for humans, can be cost-efficient, and can never get bored of a task. In case you wonder if your job will ever be taken over by robots, check out this cool link.


Jobs that AI has completely taken over


As of today, there are no jobs that have been completely taken over by robots and AI-based systems other than certain heavy industrial automation processes. However, in the near future, taxi drivers, assembly-line workers, warehouse workers, waiters, stock traders, soldiers, chefs and data analysts could be completely replaced by AI and robots. Of course, all of this may take quite some time.


Which ones will be aided by AI?


One important factor most of us seem to overlook is that – artificial intelligence needs us as much as we need it. It can ease our lives by being able to perform repetitive tasks that often end up becoming tedious for us. When we speak about the fear of AI replacing humans, we don’t factor in scenarios where AI can change the way many processes are executed and improve the overall efficiency. With the rapid development of technology surrounding AI, the number of jobs it has created has doubled rather than diminish. Most jobs will benefit from the implementation of artificial intelligence-based methods. Gaming and entertainment, hospitals, programming and development, research, computer engineers, writing, autonomous vehicles, operating heavy machinery, warehouse and manufacturing jobs, logistics management, data science, and information security are some of the jobs that can take advantage of AI-based systems.


Why does it require humans if it is that smart?


To be fair, artificial intelligence is getting smarter. Although AI-based systems can perform complex computations, they lack the ability to perform complex tasks without external guidance. Moreover, they cannot substitute the role a human can play, especially when it comes to human interactions. AI methods aren’t conjured out of thin air – someone has to program it. This is mostly done by those who specialize in AI, machine learning, development, robotics, and computational mathematics. AI systems do not possess certain skills that are commonly found in humans including cognitive, social, creative and emotional skills. There will always be roles that can never be replaced by AI (or so we think right now). These include  – scientists, HR managers, medical professionals, social workers, psychologists, public relations managers, filmmakers, software developers, and (some) writers – although GPT-3 is already leading to some writing jobs being replaced.

Currently, the world needs more people who are experts in the field since newer categories of jobs are being created by the ever-changing nature of AI. By upskilling oneself, not only are we future-proofing our jobs, but also ensuring that we play an important role in the evolution of AI-based technologies.

Date added
31.01.2022

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Future of Industry

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