AI Probably Isn’t Coming for Your Job
There has been a lot of noise lately about whether generative artificial intelligence (GAI) is going to destroy jobs and careers. Let’s take a step back to see what’s really happening.
New technology has always produced changes in how people work, from the Iron Age to the Industrial Revolution to automated factories. We don’t know yet how GAI will change our lives, but the odds are that we will find ways to adapt as job titles and roles change or disappear. In fact, we’ve been adapting to disruption all along, sometimes easily, sometimes with great difficulty.
Some disruptions seem obvious in retrospect but were invisible when new technology first arose. Telephone books, paper maps, travel agencies, and stationery stores have nearly disappeared as the capacity of the internet has increased. I spoke recently with someone whose family had been in the Chinese restaurant business. The rise of smart phones and their apps played havoc with their business models. Over just a few years the takeout food business expanded from pizza and Chinese food to encompass all but the most high-end restaurants. The family has had to pivot their business to accommodate these changes.
Chatbots and virtual assistants have been reshaping customer service for some time, responding to standard questions efficiently, without long delays on hold. While this reduces the need for customer support roles, it also leads to demand for AI trainers and developers to teach and refine these systems. It’s still not clear whether algorithms and software have actually improved customer service or customer satisfaction, especially as it becomes harder and harder to reach a human who can resolve a special need or complex problem.
Clerical roles as stenographers, transcriptionists, and file clerks have been replaced by admin roles requiring proficiency with software, website maintenance, and document formatting. Full-time switchboard operators are gone, but multitudes of IT staff are in place to design, install, and maintain complex communication systems which do a lot more than transmit voices. Some people whose roles have changed appreciate getting to do more complex, less repetitive work; others miss the human contact they had before electronic interfaces. Most of the new roles are more sedentary and isolated than when people walked to file cabinets, printers, and other people’s offices. Sedentary jobs may be more suitable for remote work, but all that sitting isn’t good for our physical or mental health.
Data entry has been supercharged by AI-powered software that can quickly and accurately analyze and input data. While such software can increase accuracy by reducing human error, it also raises major questions about the risks of data breaches, loss of privacy, and misuse of information intended for one purpose but accidentally or deliberately accessed for other purposes. Demand is already growing for forensic specialists to ensure that data is secure and verifiable. Some former data entry specialists are already filling these new roles; others find them unattractive and are seeking new positions.
In multiple fields the capacity to gather and analyze vast quantities of information is changing the ways professionals work. Business managers can readily generate multiple scenarios and tweak one or a few variables at a time, but they still need to apply empathy and common sense to imagine how employees or customers will respond to change in real life. Failing to take human factors into account can lead to loss of customers, employees, and reputation. In healthcare, software can rapidly search for specific symptoms across a wide range of cases, offering potential diagnoses quickly, but clinicians still need to test their hypotheses and avoid being misled by false correlations. Experience and human judgment are absolutely necessary to protect patients’ health.
So is AI coming for your job? In a sense, it already has come for your job: The job you were doing last year or five years ago has likely already been affected. Yet GAI and other new technologies also allow you to evolve with the essence of your job. New technology invites you to learn new things and to consider which aspects of the work require your unique humanness. AI isn’t taking your job, but it is changing what humans do and how we do it.
I have always maintained that the closest thing to job security in a rapidly changing world is the continuous development of your own knowledge and skills. It’s wise to position yourself as one of the people ahead of the curve in your field, because it’s much harder to catch up to changes you didn’t anticipate. It’s also normal for your knowledge and responsibilities to expand and change as your career progresses. If you are one of the people who frequently asks, “I wonder what would happen if…,” who is alert to developing trends and finds ways to monitor and respond to them, or who frequently experiments with finding better ways to communicate with the people you work with, you will always be in demand and you will probably continue to enjoy your work and to profit from it as long as you wish.
Regardless of the career stage you are in, it's essential to acknowledge the dual impact of AI on employment: New technology brings job displacement and the creation of new opportunities. The current transformation calls for adaptability and a proactive approach to skill development. Embracing the evolving landscape and cultivating a mindset of continuous learning will enable professionals to thrive amidst AI's ever-changing influence. By recognizing the nuanced effects of AI on various careers, you can equip yourself with the tools you need to navigate this brave new world of work.