Author: Louise Franke
Date of Publication: 03/05/2023
Nowadays we all have an idea of what artificial intelligence is. As modern and flashy as it sounds though, there are certain implications it brings with it. So, now we are going to cover the impact of AI specifically on the job market. As a result, we expect it to change the future distribution of employment in different fields and industries.
Job markets Threatened by AI
In recent years, undoubtedly, there have been huge advancements in the AI field including the emergence of the AI chatbot. This is a tool capable of human-like communication without actually needing to be operated by a human. In fact, it is more and more commonly used in customer service.
This is because it reduces expenses for firms with the need to directly and efficiently interact with customers. On top of that, it increases sales potential because the bot works out of hours. Consequently, this makes many human-operated customer service jobs dispensable. And this is just one job field.
You have probably already seen different ways in which AI technology begins to become more widespread in our daily lives. For example, the emergence of self-checkout machines in supermarkets is an AI novelty. Small advancements like this are already beginning to lessen the labor force in manual jobs without people even taking much notice.
A McKinsey study found that by 2030 we will potentially have lost 400 million jobs to AI. Actually, that’s 15% of the global workforce. So, without a doubt, this seems like a huge figure, but consider the range of uses for AI:
• self-driving vehicles
• healthcare
• agriculture
• finance ai
…and many more.
Emerging employment sectors
As miserable as this sounds, there is still hope. Despite the prospect that automation will replace many jobs, it will also create a range of new ones. In particular, fields such as data science and AI programming will expand massively. However, this shift in demand for tech roles will require many people to undergo retraining.
Apart from that, universities will also see a change in courses offered, to suit the changing labor market. What’s more, it opens up the opportunity for far more remote working than we already have. As more developed countries automate their processes and industries, the rest of the world will eventually follow.
Jobs less affected
Despite all of this, there are still job sectors in which human qualities are superior to those of machines. Jobs where empathy, human interaction, and creativity are valued such as education or therapy, are likely to be less affected by AI. This still leaves a substantial percentage of traditional jobs open. However, these of course will also involve some element of AI assistance.
To conclude, the emergence of newer and newer AI technology does threaten jobs in many industries. Yet a bright and exciting future is opening up. For those willing to change with the times, the future brings a lot of new opportunities.