The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Workforce
By Betsy Burton
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Workforce
Whenever any new technology comes to the forefront there are always some who rightfully are concerned that automation will take their jobs. We’ve seen this with the introduction of the mechanical loom, the introduction of a harvesting thresher, the introduction of the PC, and now the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
So why is it that artificial intelligence technologies in particular are getting so much attention about the impacts of job replacement and automation?
I believe the biggest job impact that artificial intelligence technologies are going to have is in augmenting how people work.
I think there are also big potential impacts with respect to the use of AI technologies for causing harm, including increased hacking, fraud, misinformation and a willingness of humans to hand over their decision making to AI.
But the question of job replacement is a very interesting specific question.
What Jobs Will Be Impacted By Artificial Intelligence
The introduction of artificial intelligence has the ability to impact both workers doing knowledge work, workers doing skilled labor, and workers doing more routine tasks. This makes it very different from many previous automation efforts.
Think about the impact of manufacturing automation. In many cases it has been the most routine tasks that manufacturing automation has affected (e.g., moving apart from point A to point B, tightening a bolt, filling a container). There are still skilled laborers on manufacturing floors working side by side with robotics.
But artificial intelligence is about intelligence, not just automating mundane or routine tasks. For that reason, there are many highly skilled knowledge jobs that could be affected, and for that reason it’s getting a lot of attention.
Economics of Artificial Intelligence Investments
Another reason artificial intelligence is getting a lot of attention in terms of automation is because there are some interesting economic questions and decisions that come about with the use of AI technologies.
A senior executive at a company has a budget for spending on AI. Are they going to spend that money to buy/rent a robot to clean the bathrooms or stack the warehouse? Or are they going to spend that money to automate some of the more complex and high-cost intelligent work that needs to be done, such as accounting, tax management, customer engagement or creative marketing?
Or do I need to put money into intelligent drivers replacing a skilled worker?
The answer is it depends on the economics of the business. One business might choose to put AI resources into automating routine work, while another might look to automate more high end knowledge workers.
As mentioned above artificial intelligence is going to have an impact on knowledge and skilled workers as well as routine workers.
What Will be the Overall Impact of Artificial Intelligence?
Yes, there will be some jobs that are replaced with artificial intelligence. There will also be many many jobs that are augmented and enhanced by AI. And last AI will cause the creation of a number of new jobs, including:
- AI Trainers and Monitors
- Prompt Engineering
- Content Reviewers and Researchers
- Content Curators
- Cyber Security Experts
It is reasonable to assume that AI will have a direct impact on net jobs in the short term. However, in the long term we believe that the impact on net jobs will become more positive as organizations leverage AI and new jobs are created.
Bottom Line
There are many issues to debate when it comes to the growth and adoption of AI. And we will be discussing many of these issues at Transform Tour 2023 on Thursday, September 21st, 2023 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET.
These questions are critically important, such as security, privacy, copyright issues, ethical use, misinformation, and disinformation. There will also be a change management issue as organizations grapple with the human management, governance, metrics, and ongoing management of AI systems.
However, I tend to believe that we will see a job shift overall rather than a job replacement. Organizations must work with their employees, partners and potential future employees to ensure that they are trained for the future with AI and are ready for the jobs that will be needed.
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