AI vs Human
AI automation and specifically, the ChatGPT beta has been a revelation in the last month and opens up a whole host of questions related to how human employment will be affected in the coming years. For those of you who aren’t familiar with ChatGPT - it is essentially an advanced chatbot which mimics human language using an immensely large dataset. ChatGPT can write and debug computer programs; compose music, fairy tales, and student essays - in fact it was shown to be able to not only write a student essay but also grade it accurately when asked. It is able to perform many of these tasks close to, or on par with what would be expected of a person with the relevant skills. This is equal parts amazing and terrifying.
Ultimately, as these systems become smarter and more advanced (Chat GPT does still make mistakes) it begs the question; what does this all mean for people and their prospective employment opportunities? Well according to those who know far more about the topic than myself, the future could look bleak. Instead of hypothesising on the plethora of doomsday scenarios however, I thought it would be interesting to brainstorm on the potential opportunities this shift presents.?
It may seem odd to consider why an AI revolution could prompt businesses focused specifically on delivering positive human experiences to become more successful. Well, as skills which we previously believed were exclusive to humans - no longer remain exclusive, it places greater emphasis on the often intangible benefits that we can obtain only by interacting with a real person. We may be looking at a future where technical skills become less necessary, but instead - people search for opportunities to interact in ways which provide them with uniquely human interactions and experiences. There doesn’t appear to be a replacement (yet) for having a pleasant interaction with an employee at a supermarket or retail store. Nor does it seem obvious that there is a substitute for face to face interaction when attempting to build trust via business transactions. This is not to say that businesses will not continue to invest heavily in automation, but it does open up greater opportunities for businesses which can optimise how well they deliver human solutions for real humans.