AI’s Effect On Future Jobs
AI plays an extraordinarily complex and unique role in our society. Just a couple of years ago, the idea of AI was some extremely far-out thing that was not going to happen any time soon, yet today, we see it take a rather large role in our day-to-day lives. The funding behind AI has increased massively, mainly partly due to the “AI War” between Microsoft and Google. We are currently at the forefront of a massive shift in the public perception of AI. Because of this, companies worldwide are going all in to try to develop and apply AI models to their businesses.
The Role of AI in Our World
Since the AI boom in late 2022, we’ve seen many changes in how it’s been applied daily. Before, AI was almost used as a buzzword to describe anything “smart.” Companies would claim their products were “AI-powered”; however, in most cases, they weren’t actually and just had code to allow them to adjust to the work they were trying to accomplish. Now, however, AI is seen in many places and used constantly. One of the most significant applications of AI is in programming. AI can quickly and efficiently debug code in ways humans simply cannot. This is seen with GitHub’s CoPilot program, an AI companion created to help developers write code faster and more accurately using context from the code they already have.
However, this has its limitations. Apple has banned ChatGPT and similar technologies due to concerns over data leaks. Human moderators inspect anything given to these AI services to ensure the program isn’t being used maliciously. However, nothing is stopping these moderators from leaking this code to the public, giving advantages to their competitors. So, while improving many companies' efficiency is beneficial, it has drawbacks.
AI vs. Human Thinking
Before we tackle the problem of how exactly to differentiate AI and human work, it can be helpful to understand how AI and humans approach problems similarly and differently. The biggest strength of human thinking that will forever be the challenge of creating convincing AI is intuition/common sense.
For example, if you were walking through a park and saw a kid that walked behind a tree, you would know that kid is still there, and you would likely see him walk around the other side of the tree. An AI, however, would struggle to realize the kid is still there when he can’t be seen and would struggle to predict where you will see him again. Problems like this will always be a challenge for AI to overcome, especially in places like driving, which is almost entirely done through common sense thinking.
Conversely, AI has a few advantages over humans outside of its insane processing power and memory. AI has the opportunity to be even more creative than humans. In many cases, it’s been shown that AI can develop even crazier out-of-the-box strategies than humans because AI can understand rules. A common place this can be seen is the game of chess. Although chess AI is far better than how humans could ever play, most high-level chess players can quite easily spot AI players due to their unique styles of play compared to humans. While humans would never play some moves, since AIs are so smart, they can ultimately create distinctive and exciting solutions to otherwise “common sense” situations.
AI and the job market
Even in the job market, we continue to see even more parallels between AI and human work. With the growth of AI, we see the incorporation of AI systems in many fields of work in the form of automation. This leads us to wonder which job markets could have been impacted the most due to AI implementation. The industries that could be impacted the most are office and administrative support positions, as they have the highest number of tasks that can be automated, followed closely behind by positions in life, physical, and social sciences. We can see this implementation today as most companies use customer support bots to handle customer requests and support tickets. It is only when the issue is more complex that these issues are handed to a person.
ChatGPT is one of these AI systems that has been a topic of interest in recent months, and its impact on the job market is now a point of contention. CNN released a segment on ChatGPT and how it's changing the job market. The segment describes how the tool passed the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam and continues to show reliable advancements that could change day-to-day operations in specific industries. This, in turn, could displace jobs while creating new positions. Many businesses have already begun to see the benefits of these systems. We already see the incorporation of automated systems today, which will only increase with the advancements of AI systems such as ChatGPT.
With AI advancements in the workplace, we can see clear advantages and disadvantages of AI systems and AI. One clear advantage of AI is that it is very efficient. Repetitive work that usually tends to be time-consuming can be automated, increasing productivity and allowing for focus to be placed on more important tasks. In the same regard, accuracy is another advantage, as AI systems can be precise and reduce the number of mistakes. This would also make the work efficient, reducing the time needed to check for accuracy. As a result of these advantages, businesses would save money by reducing labor and implementing systems that would replace any need for manual work. These advantages make a compelling argument for the increased use of AI systems.
But as there are advantages, there are also limitations to consider when implementing these systems. One such limitation is the loss of human discretion, which could be vital in some areas of work. The loss of the human element and interaction can be detrimental to other workers or even customers. We can see this now with most people going through support bots needing to speak with a person to resolve their issues that a bot would not be able to assist with
As we can see, there are advantages to these systems, but there are also limitations to consider. As noted before, human discretion is one key idea to consider when considering AI systems in the workplace. After all, systems can only account for so many variables and discrepancies, which allows them to be efficient in low-skill jobs. However, many positions still require human decision-making to be effective. Overall, AI systems can be beneficial in specific markets, but it is always important to consider the impact and limitations of the systems in place.
AI’s effect on the education system
If you haven’t heard or know much about AI, many of you have at least seen an ad or 2 of AI programs claiming to be undetected and trace-free, especially from professors and teachers. This offer sounds quite alluring to stressed students while fearful for the professors in mind. This further leads us to wonder how AI has affected the school system. If students have been genuinely doing the work or if it has all been a long string of words developed by an AI.
According to the Best Colleges research survey, students from all colleges have taken an anonymous survey. It shows that 43% of college students have used ChapGPT or a similar AI program to help them cheat in their assignments and exams. Only 23% of students have been caught using ChatGPT or other AI programs. This is a real issue, as schools should have 0 tolerance for cheating and plagiarizing.
This brings us to what college boards should do to prevent AI usage and cheating. Many college boards are starting to enforce their no plagiarism and no cheating policies; while this can be helpful, it doesn’t necessarily address AI in particular. Some schools are implementing a new rule or standard aside from simply no cheating, the no AI rule. Where students will get punished for anything they detect in their work.
There has also been new technology brewing to detect AI in student papers. Here on NBC News, they had a whole segment of students using and not using AI to write their essays and then testing to see if the software could detect it or not. For now, there isn’t much we can do other than hope that students won’t rely on AI for answers and that the 43% will only start to decrease.
AI’s effect on future jobs
AI is expected to significantly impact future jobs, both in terms of job creation and job displacement. AI technologies can automate repetitive tasks across various industries. However, the development of AI systems requires skilled professionals in AI. This leads to a growing demand for roles like AI engineers, data scientists, machine learning specialists, and AI ethicists. The growth in these areas can offset job displacement by creating new employment opportunities. Collaboration between humans and AI can enhance productivity. To navigate the future of work, individuals must adapt and acquire new skills. Upskilling and reskilling will be essential to stay competitive in the job market and seize new AI-driven opportunities. AI’s impact on future jobs is complex, disrupting some roles while creating new avenues for innovation and employment.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s essential to differentiate AI and Human work. Both of them have tremendous value in our world today. AI can perfectly do repeatedly and infinite types of work, calculations, etc. So, it can save time and increase work efficiency. But simultaneously, human work is vital because people create everything new and beautiful. People have creativity and new ideas. So, it’s wrong to predict that AI will replace almost everything. Instead, it’s better to combine them. Because together, we can open more opportunities in different industries. People are the only ones who can improve AI’s abilities.
