Regarding Professionalism (June 2017)

Big Data, a well-produced conference held recently in Toronto, prompts tough questions about what “professionalism” means in an era of unceasing disruption. 

Sessions devoted to AI (artificial or augmented intelligence), machine learning and increasingly smart, connected devices point to implemented and pending solutions that claim capabilities once deemed the sole domain of human beings. 

Professionalism, among its other requirements, necessitates cultivating expertise. While attending “J School” (i.e., journalism school), my classmates and I were asked: “What distinguishes a professional journalist?” The answer, after some deliberation: Professional journalists possess a distinctive ability for news judgment. 

If so, the Reuters Digital News Report 2017 must cause a shudder among members of the media. In the Overview and Key Findings, it states: “We can also add up preferences for content that is selected by an algorithm (search, social, and many aggregators) and compare with that selected by an editor (direct, email, and mobile notifications). More than half of us (54%) prefer paths that use algorithms to select stories rather than editors or journalists (44%). This effect is even more apparent for those who mainly use smartphones (58%) and for younger users (64%).” 

But it isn’t only newshounds engaged in a stare-down with a digital adversary. In June 2016, the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship released a comprehensive report (The Talented Mr. Robot: The Impact of Automation on Canada’s Workforce), observing that: “The more recent rise of artificial intelligence and advanced robotics means that automation is now entering the realm of cognitive, non-routine tasks and occupations, such as driving and conducting job interviews.” 

Fast forward to June 2017 and a CBC.ca analysis of the predicament facing Canadian geophysicists: What to do when high-paying jobs start to disappear. Quoting a new study from the Brookfield Institute (Mapping Automation), which forecasts 7.7 million Canadian jobs could be automated, the CBC.ca piece states: “Such sweeping changes won’t be limited to self-driving vehicles taking over from truckers and cabbies, because white collar professions, too, such as the law and accounting, are vulnerable.” 

The livelihood implications for knowledge-based workers upended by automation are obviously significant. But what does it imply for one’s professional self-concept when a machine does it better and faster? If gaining expertise and discerning judgment—typically attained only with sustained effort—can be undone by a well-programmed substitute, what value is there in pursuing them?

The goal of this post is not to dump on intelligence-driven innovation—we need it to address complex human challenges. Nor is it a lament for sunset occupations that cannot contend with enhanced, technology-empowered change. 

Rather, it is intended to focus the attention of professionals in every sector—from communications and financial services to engineering and law—on what they uniquely offer that cannot be replicated by a sophisticated microprocessor. It may lie in nuanced attributes of expertise that are not easily assimilated by machines or in a service proposition that a “cool” application cannot warmly offer. 

What “professionalism” means is being rapidly redefined. The topic therefore merits your thought.