Author: Yuvraj Gupta
Through the years, technology has impacted the way we approach work. But artificial intelligence is crucially different from other technological advances. AI can assess information, converse, predict, write creatively, design, and even help make decisions. And now, AI is beginning to enter the physical world, with humanoid robots being developed to take over hard and repetitive work. It begs the question, will AI take away our jobs, or change our jobs?
Firstly, one of the biggest areas where AI is set to affect our jobs is recruitment. Nowadays there are so many applications for a role, that it is difficult for humans to look through each CV. AI can look over the application and see whether the candidate meets the criteria. AI can even take it further. It can carry out the first round of assessments and conversations as a chatbot. For instance, studies into AI recruitment systems have demonstrated ways in which algorithms can reduce the time spent on initial candidate screening, and enable human recruiters to focus their attention on the strongest applicants. This could make recruitment dramatically faster and cost-efficient.
But, speed and cost-efficiency do not always mean quality. If an algorithm is trained by past human decisions, it can have human prejudices embedded within it, leading to the exploitation of these prejudices on a much wider scale. Therefore, human decision-making and accountability are important prerequisites.
Rather than replacing humans, AI can work with them to increase the productivity of the firm. An employee can use AI to help summarise documents, analyse data, or even create a first draft. As a result, humans can spend more time on the important aspects of their job. This presents a fundamental shift in how people will work. Future employees will no longer be defined by their skills in doing a certain task, but by their skills in working alongside AI technology. Essentially, AI literacy may become far more important than basic technical and professional skills.
The question becomes more important when we take a look at the AI systems that make decisions. Businesses already use algorithms for fraud detection, financial risk management, predictive analytics, consumer behaviour, etc. AI systems will be capable of processing more information than any individual or group, enabling businesses to make quicker decisions. However, the use of AI systems can cause algorithmic bias, privacy concerns, and a lack of transparency. Therefore, the decision-making responsibility cannot entirely be taken up by AI; however, the AI systems can assist humans in doing so with transparency.
Perhaps most crucially, it should be noted that the future of many traditional careers may change. The World Economic Forum has noted that over a third of young people globally are in occupations that have a medium to high exposure to AI-driven changes to the tasks they carry out. This is especially concerning for young workers. Young workers develop their understanding of the job through doing the monotonous and repetitive tasks before moving on to more interesting elements. But if those tasks in the future are replaced by AI, firms may find themselves more productive, but young employees may find themselves unable to complete any monotonous tasks at all.
Moreover, AI is not limited to the office. Barclays has observed that there is the potential for humanoid robots to begin to take over physically demanding and repetitive tasks in the future. This is especially important for many developed nations, where an ageing population means that there are fewer people physically able to do the hard work. Therefore, AI may not only replace some aspects of mental work, but it may also replace some aspects of physical work.
Ultimately, the future of employment will not be a straight fight between humans and machines, but the way in which people work may change completely. Rather than jobs being lost and jobs being gained, certain tasks may be lost, certain jobs may change, and many areas of work may demand a new set of skills. The employees most suited to this future are not those who know the most about AI, but those who are best at using it, without losing their personal judgement. Essentially, AI will make us think about not only what humans can do better than machines, but also what humans can do differently. When we think about AI and the future of jobs, we should not only be asking, “Which jobs will disappear?”. But we should be asking “What should humans continue to do when machines can do more?” and the answer to that question will decide whether the AI revolution will be one of jobs lost, or one of the biggest increases in productivity in human history.
