Yes, AI will impact our jobs, but not in the way you imagine

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With everything being said in the mainstream media right now, many of you are probably wondering how to protect your work from artificial intelligence systems.

Before continuing let me remind you that there are several types of AI, and those concerned by this debate are in most cases Generative AI, a subset of unsupervised learning. Indeed, based on? the learning approach we can classify AI into three groups:

• Supervised learning: the AI learns from labelled examples provided by humans. You can use them for example for image recognition or language translation.
• Unsupervised learning: the AI learns from unstructured data without any pre-existing labels, and can be used for clustering or anomaly detection.
• Reinforcement learning: the AI learns through trial and error by receiving feedback in the form of rewards or penalties, and is used in game playing or robotics.

While Generative AI is used by millions to write blog articles, create marketing campaigns, write and debug codes, etc. we are more and more seeing impressive and scary headlines: “300 million jobs could be affected by the latest wave of AI, says Goldman Sachs”; “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence - Widespread Job Losses”; “10 Jobs AI Might Soon Replace”; “OpenAI says 80% of workers could see their jobs impacted by AI. These are the jobs most affected” etc.

As a reminder, Generative AIs are capable of generating new data or content including but not limited to, creating new images, videos, music, text, etc. ChatGPT for instance, a large language model (LLM) trained by OpenAI, can generate human-like responses to questions and prompts given to it by users. Midjourney & DALL-E as far as they are concerned can generate images based on a prompt entered by the user.

Yes, this could be scary, but there are two ways to these headlines in my humble opinion. Either be afraid or seek to understand and exploit this technology to our advantage. I preferred this second option, especially since a large part of today's jobs did not exist only 50 years ago: digital marketing, app designer, big data analyst, etc. to name a few. The story repeats itself.

The need to control a subset of AI to avoid issues and abuses should not lead us to be afraid, or not to be interested in this technology which can bring us more than what we can imagine today.

In this article, I want us together to explore how AI can affect our jobs and careers and how to prepare to benefit from it to the fullest.

How does AI affect jobs?

The positive impacts of AI on jobs and careers

Increased demand for certain skills:

• As AI continues to advance and becomes more prevalent in various industries, there may be a growing demand for workers with expertise in new areas such as machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision.?

Increased productivity and efficiency:?

• By using AI to augment human skills, you can accomplish more in less time.
• AI can assist you in decision-making, providing valuable insights and data to improve your performance.
• AI can help your business to produce more goods and services at a lower cost, increasing their productivity and efficiency.

Improved safety:?

• AI can help reduce the risk of workplace accidents and injuries by taking over dangerous or repetitive tasks.

Improved accuracy:?

• AI can perform tasks with a high degree of accuracy, reducing errors that can result in costly mistakes.

Enhanced creativity and job satisfaction:?

• By taking on repetitive or mundane tasks, AI can free you to focus on more fulfilling aspects of your job that require creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Job creation:?

• New jobs and career paths can also be created in the design, development, implementation, and maintenance of automated systems.

The negative impacts of AI on jobs and careers

Job displacement:?

• AI can replace jobs that are repetitive or require low-level skills, leading to the displacement of workers (who are no longer needed to perform the automated tasks) or the need for you to retrain for new roles. Job displacement could affect you if you are unable to adapt.

Reduced demand for certain skills:?

• As technology takes over certain tasks, the demand for skills that were previously required for those tasks will most probably decrease. You may need to upskill or reskill in order to adapt to new job requirements.

Reduced job quality and satisfaction (yes it can be both negative and positive):?

• Some jobs may become less satisfying or challenging as automation takes over routine or manual tasks, leading to reduced job quality and satisfaction for some of you.
• By replacing human workers or reducing the need for certain job functions AI can cause anxiety and uncertainty among you, as you may fear losing your jobs.?
• The use of AI may also lead to a lack of trust or control among some of you, as you may feel like your work is being overly scrutinized or monitored.

Social impact:?

• AI could exacerbate income inequality by benefiting those with the skills and resources to adapt to new technologies while leaving behind those who lack the necessary skills and education.

Increased reliance on technology:?

• AI can lead to a reliance on technology, which can result in reduced human agency and creativity in certain industries or roles.

Potential for bias:?

• AI systems can be biased based on the data they are trained on, which can lead to unintended discrimination or unequal outcomes. It is important to address these issues and ensure that AI is used fairly and equitably.

What does this mean for you as employees or employers?

For employees

I am starting with the employees because according to HR “our career is in our hands”, and we “need to be ready to capture all the opportunities”.

Depending on your industry, function, position in the company, and ambitions, you will be required to develop some of these skills below that can be useful for you who want to fully take advantage of AI:

• Artificial Intelligence Literacy: It's important to have a good understanding of how AI work and impacts your specific industry or job.?
• Lifelong Adaptability and Flexibility: Given the rapid pace of technological change, you will need to be adaptable and willing to learn new skills throughout your career. If you can quickly pivot and adapt to new technologies, situations and work environments you will be well-positioned to succeed.
• Critical Thinking: Machines are not as good as humans when it comes to critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making. Jobs that require these skills are less likely to be automated. You need to be able to analyze and interpret complex data sets, identify patterns, and make sound judgments based on that information.
• Creativity and Problem-Solving: AI is good at repetitive tasks but still limited in its ability to “think” creatively and come up with new ideas. Jobs that require creative thinking are less likely to be replaced by AI. Employees who can think outside the box and find innovative solutions to complex problems will be highly valued.
• Communication: As AI becomes more widespread, you will need to be able to communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Strong communication skills will therefore be particularly important.
• Collaboration: AI is often used in teams, so collaboration skills can be very useful as they enable effective cooperation with other team members and customers to achieve common goals.
• Emotional Intelligence: AI may be able to perform certain tasks more efficiently than humans, but it cannot replace human emotional intelligence and empathy which are needed in many fields. Jobs that require interpersonal skills are also less likely to be automated. Employees who are able to connect with others on an emotional level and provide personalized support will continue to be in demand.
• Data Analysis: AI often relies on the analysis of large amounts of data, so skills in collecting, cleaning and analyzing data can be very useful.
• Programming & AI/Software Development: AI is often based on programming and software development, so skills in these areas can be very useful. The good news is that the most widely used programming language in AI (Python) also happens to be the easiest to learn. Moreover, you will sometimes only need to learn part of it.

For employers

Given the importance of the subject for your company, and in order not to lose many years of experience accumulated by your employees, here are some suggestions for programs that can be put in place to help your employees transition to the changing job landscape created by AI:

• Training & Education: to help them develop new skills and competencies (upskilling and reskilling). Your employees may need to engage in long-term learning to keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date. This can involve providing employees access to online learning platforms, training workshops, and other educational resources. They may also need financial support to help them cover the costs of education and training in some cases.
• Apprenticeships & Internships: to provide them with on-the-job training and work experience, which can help them gain practical experience.
• Counselling & Mentoring: to help them navigate the changing job market and identify new career opportunities. This can include providing information about in-demand jobs, as well as guidance on how to develop the skills and competencies needed to succeed in those roles.

This blog post on the positive and negative effects of AI on our jobs and careers and how to prepare for it was written with the assistance of several artificial intelligence.

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