Will AI Replace Jobs in the Future?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a science fiction concept; it is now a reality in our daily lives, automating everyday activities and vastly enhancing our quality of life. How will this alternate labor source impact the future workforce as AI and automation become more skilled?
The World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded in a recent report that “a new generation of smart machines, fueled by rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, could potentially replace a large proportion of existing human jobs.”
Artificial intelligence has begun to replace workers in performing specific tasks. Still, it has not yet influenced the labor market as a whole a study based on US data has shown.
The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) – so much so that it learns to improve on its own – leads economists to conflict conclusions about its impact on the labor market. On the one hand, such technologies are called harbingers of future unemployment: for example, Daniel Susskind of Oxford University, author of ”A World Without Work”, believes that ultimately AI, not humans, will become the “default choice” for many types of tasks. On the other hand, in the development of AI, on the contrary, they see the prospects for a breakthrough in human productivity and the competitiveness of companies.
Companies are developing their AI and robotics expertise with the idea that through these technological innovations, they’ll be able to A) cut costs; B) increase efficiencies; C) offer new value propositions; D) execute new business models; or E) all of the above.
AI can replace or complement workers by improving their skills: for example, a study by economists from Accenture, in which they studied the work of 1,500 companies in various industries, showed that the most significant productivity gains occur when people and machines work together.
According to McKinsey Global Institute’s two-year report, intelligent agents and robots could replace up to 30% of the world’s existing human labor by 2030. However, Oxford Economics expects robots and automation to replace 20 million (8.5%) global manufacturing jobs by 2030.
Notice that these predictions were made before the Covid-19 pandemic or its effect on our workforce. As the vital need to operate from home, physical distancing, and contactless has become the new standard, the need for digital transformation and automation has become more urgent.
Suppose we can assume that such jobs as Customer service executives, Receptionists, Courier services, Doctors, Taxi and bus drivers, etc., can be eventually replaced by machines. Nevertheless, we should mention that several positions cannot be overtaken by AI.
Human imagination is limitless. Jobs that include strategic thinking, thought leadership, conflict resolution and negotiation, emotional intelligence, and empathy are all skills that AI will never be able to replace. An example could be Writers or Lawyers, Scientists, Event planners, Project managers, and so on.
On the bright side, AI and automation will also aid in the elimination of disease and hunger around the world. Already, AI is advancing medicine and healthcare by improving disease prevention, diagnosis accuracy, and treatment and cure effectiveness. Besides, one of the most difficult challenges in eliminating global poverty is determining where assistance is most required. This obstacle can be overcome by using AI to analyze data from satellite images, effectively directing help.
So, will robots be able to take over many of our jobs? The response is a resounding yes. Today’s robots are constantly evolving, learning, and adjusting to their surroundings. As a result, artificial intelligence can have a significant impact on jobs to some degree.
However, we believe that with every job that is taken over by machines, there will be an equal number of job fields produced for people to take over. Any of these human jobs would be creative in nature, as it is essential to note that empathy, cognitive thinking, and emotional intelligence are characteristics that distinguish humans and make them irreplaceable.
Besides, we could also ask why everyone is only worried about AI taking away our jobs, however, do not think about the possible effective collaboration between humans and AI as allies?
This is unfortunate, according to Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence, because these two forms of intelligence are complementary, allowing the development of predictive devices with incredible accuracy. The combination of human cognitive capacity and machine predictive scalability will allow more accurate and impactful decisions to be made.
To put it another way, we’ll end this debate by remembering that the human-machine relationship is only getting started, and it promises to be beneficial to our cultures and economies.
