Will AI Replace Your Job? What To Do If You’re Worried
Artificial intelligence has long been both admired and feared. On the one hand, it offers the ability to crunch large amounts of data to help make forecasting storms and analyzing climate patterns much easier. On the other hand, it has taken away jobs due to its ability to be “always on” and very capable of handling repetitive tasks, from retrieving items out of a storehouse to assembling an automobile. With AI seemingly growing more advanced every day, it’s perfectly normal to wonder if your job is one that might be affected by an emotionless but efficient machine. Here’s a look at some jobs that might be the most susceptible, along with suggestions as to how to remain employed and what to do if your job falls victim to AI.
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Industries Susceptible to the Rise of AI
As efficient as artificial intelligence can be, just like humans, it has strengths and weaknesses. Where AI truly excels at the present time is crunching big numbers, analyzing large amounts of data and performing repetitive tasks — or even specialized ones — for which it can be programmed or “trained.” According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020, here are the 10 industries that will likely see job losses thanks to the advance of AI.
Data entry clerks
Administrative and executive secretaries
Accounting, bookkeeping and payroll clerks
Accountants and auditors
Assembly and factory workers
Business services and administration managers
Client information and customer service workers
General and operations managers
Mechanics and machinery repairers
Material-recording and stock-keeping clerks
As you can see from this list, the most likely jobs to fall thanks to AI are related to data entry, number crunching and customer service. This is because machines are excellent at rapidly processing and organizing data. For example, software created and deployed by JPMorgan to automate document review was said to review in seconds the number of contracts that formerly took lawyers over 360,000 man-hours.
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Best Ways To Fight Off Being Replaced by AI
The best way to keep your job during the age of AI is to provide unique skills or services that can’t be easily replicated by a computer or machine. For example, back office workers at accounting offices might eventually get replaced by data-crunching machines — as might some accountants who provide only basic services — but there will always be a need for good accountants. That’s because in a human society, human thinking is needed to actually interpret data and provide real-world recommendations based on a combination of experience, insight and interpretation that a machine can’t yet provide.
Another way to fight off the AI wave is to do your job in a way that a machine can’t replicate. For example, it’s been suggested that writers might start heading to the unemployment line since AI like ChatGPT can already do a credible job at writing essays and articles. But the truth is that the writing that ChatGPT creates is simply based on drawing readily available information on the internet and assembling it in an easy-to-read fashion. Writers who keep their jobs will be the ones who provide human insight and perspective that AI can’t access. In other words, while some writers will lose their jobs, good writers will keep them — and the same is true in many AI-threatened industries.
Are There Any Positives to the Coming AI Wave?
Whether you lose your job due to AI or some other cause, the recovery process is the same. After filing for unemployment, it’s time to look for jobs that you qualify for — preferably, ones that won’t be replaced by AI a few months or years down the road. Look into educating yourself about what industries have a bright future in the world of AI and training yourself to do these types of jobs.
The good news is that while technology always displaces certain jobs, it also creates new ones. According to a report by Goldman Sachs, for example, 60% of workers are currently in jobs that didn’t even exist in 1940. This shows that the job market always evolves, regardless of economic or technological changes. While some jobs end up being lost forever, new ones are typically created in their place.
Supporting that contention is data from the Future of Jobs Report 2020, which suggests that while 85 million jobs may fall by the wayside thanks to AI, as many as 97 million other jobs will be created. Here are some of the industries for which the report sees a healthy future:
Data analysts and scientists
AI and machine learning specialists
Big data specialists
Digital marketing and strategy specialists
Process automation specialists
Business development professionals
Digital transformation specialists
Information security analysts
Software and applications developers
Internet of Things specialists
If you’re working in one of these fields — or are interested enough to learn the requisite skills after you’ve been laid off — you should likely be able to work side-by-side with AI in the coming decades.
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