Last month, Netflix caused a stir when it published a job listing for an artificial intelligence (AI) expert with a salary of up to $900,000 per year.
The listing may have raised smirks in the coding community, but it also ignited the ire of striking Hollywood actors who have laid down their arms over fears that AI could destroy their livelihoods.
The strikers have found a top-flight figurehead in Tom Cruise, who made a surprise appearance at a negotiation session last month to push through their demands.
The actors’ strike has shed a light that industries once thought pre-robot rise are no longer safe.
Previous waves of automation have mostly destroyed “routine tasks” that can be easily programmed into a computer.
The US Career Institute ranked the top 10 jobs with the lowest automation risk based on the skills required and projected growth through 2031
Tom Cruise made a surprise appearance on behalf of striking Hollywood actors in a negotiation with TV stations and streaming services last month. He advocated regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) within the industry, a cornerstone of stakeholder demands
The actors’ strike, which began last week, coincides with a protest being raised by the Writers Guild of America, which has called a walkout for May 2nd
But the advent of generative AI — a form of AI that can actually create things like words, sounds, and images, sometimes at the level of human creativity — means even actors and musicians are now getting nervous.
Chatbots, introduced by major tech companies such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, have amazed observers by their ability to compose poetry or paint pictures in the style of famous artists.
Goldman Sachs estimated in March that AI capable of generating content could do a quarter of all the work currently done by humans.
The report says that across the European Union and the US, 300 million jobs could be lost to automation.
Experts agree that no sector will remain untouched, so asked: is anyone safe from our new robot rulers?
These people, our fortune tellers say, breathe the easiest…
The creative arts
Actors, artists, musicians
A decade ago, few would have thought that these professions would be threatened by automation.
But generative AI has put graphic design and fine arts roles in imminent jeopardy.
Simple algorithms can instruct a bot to analyze millions of images, learning and recreating patterns and aesthetics.
There are now dozens of examples of AI being used to simulate famous actors and musicians, and one day the original could potentially be obsolete.
In a recent podcast interview, Tom Hanks mused that artificial intelligence (AI) could actually make him obsolete.
Tom Hanks recently said AI will be able to recreate him in Hollywood movies long after he’s dead
The listings not only highlight the lavish spending now being committed to AI programs, but also illustrate Silicon Valley’s continued commitment to integrating AI into its various businesses, despite the ongoing double whammy of Hollywood’s actors and writers
Previous waves of automation have destroyed “routine tasks” that can easily be done by the computer. But the advent of generative AI — a form of AI that can create content — means that even professions that were once considered safe before the rise of machines are now less safe
AI has long been used to recreate Hollywood stars in films, including this early attempt to simulate Hanks in the 2004 Christmas hit The Polar Express
Experts believe that those with specialist knowledge in their field are still better at using new technologies than amateurs. For example, famous British artist David Hockney, 83, painted this picture of Ludwig van Beethoven using an iPad to celebrate the German composer’s 250th birthday
Hockney created the work using an Apple Pencil on his iPad at his home in France
When asked about the amazing ability of new technologies to create lifelike recreations – or “deep fakes” – of Hollywood stars, the six-time Hollywood actor replied, “I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and that’s it, but my performances can go on.’ and so on.’
Hanks hinted that this might not be a bad thing, but millions of workers, perhaps without the benefit of world fame and a $400 million net worth, are less complacent about the rise of robots.
Netflix’s AI job description seems to indicate that the role will include using algorithms to assess funding needs for various programs.
This is a key concern for actors’ union Sag-Aftra, which has expressed concerns that algorithms have too much power.
But Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, author of I, Human: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique, says authentic creativity cannot be replaced.
He compares a fake Hanks to a fake Louis Vuitton handbag or a replica Van Gogh. “It just enhances the real thing,” he says. “With Hanks, the films that he actually made will be more valuable.”
Chamorro-Premuzic also points out that – as in other industries – experts in their field are better able to use the technology than others.
He points to photographers using iPhones or Instagram to present their subjects in novel ways.
Acclaimed British artist David Hockney, for example, uses his iPad to create many of his contemporary works.
“They know their worth is in doing things that the average person can’t do with this machine,” says Chamorro-Premuzic.
Aside from celebrity actors and musicians, a 2021 list of 65 occupations least at risk of automation compiled by the US Career Institute includes seven careers that could fall within the creative arts realm.
These roles, ranked in order of their projected growth over the next decade, include choreographers at number 2, arts or music therapists and teachers, interior designers, landscape designers and – if you consider sport as part of the entertainment industry – coaches and boy scouts.
Health professionals and scientists
Doctors, nurses, STEM researchers
Thinking about switching careers to prevent AI takeover?
Nurse
Duration of training: 6 – 8 years
Cost: up to $250,000
choreographer
Duration of training: often requires a dance degree and around 5 years of experience as a professional dancer
Cost: around $36,000
Doctor’s assistant
Duration of training: 7 – 8 years
Cost: $20,000 to $100,000 per year
Mental Health Advisor
Duration of training: up to 6 years
Cost: up to $27.5,000 per year
Marva Bailer, vice president of autonomous procurement firm Globality and author of Be Unexpected: Resetting Routines to Revolutionize the Future of Work, says one of the best ways to predict which sectors are most at risk of an AI invasion in the near future is to do it , look at patents.
The sectors with the most AI patents are those that industry leaders clearly believe are ripe for automation.
In that regard, Bailer says, the public health sector is in the line of fire.
AI has the ability to sift through vast amounts of data to find possible treatments for diseases, and it’s already being used.
Supercomputers have partnered with US hospitals to offer advice on the best treatments for a range of cancers and help detect skin cancer in its early stages.
Robots have been supporting surgical procedures for years.
Medical professionals have reassured themselves by arguing that patients want a human with a calming bedside demeanor, but a recent study from the University of California suggested that ChatGPT appears to have a more personal presence than some doctors.
“Physicians, in particular, are not likely to willingly surrender control of their patients’ treatment to a synthetic intellect,” writes Jerry Kaplan in his book Humans Need Not Apply. “But eventually, when the results show that this is the better option, patients will demand to see the attentive robot rather than the overworked doctor for a fraction of the fee.”
But the University of California study, published in April in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, had medical professionals rate written responses for quality and empathy.
It is still unlikely that a sick patient would rather have HAL 9000 at their bedside than Dr. Doug Ross.
Robotic surgery isn’t foolproof either: it’s been linked to hundreds of deaths in the United States over the past decade.
And while technology can support scientific research, human scientists and engineers are “critical to formulating hypotheses, designing experiments, and interpreting results,” according to Dr. Lisa Palmer, an AI business strategist who has worked with tech giants like Microsoft.
Bailer believes that AI will ultimately improve the lives of medical professionals by enabling them to be more efficient, less fatigued and better paid.
That, in turn, can only be good for the patients.
Healthcare and STEM jobs dominate the US Career Institute’s list of AI-safe jobs, occupying 28 spots on the list, including the top spot — Nursing.
interpersonal roles
Customer service, hospitality, therapists, consultants
Who would you rather have at your hospital bed? The unsympathetic HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick’s epic “2001: A Space Odyssey” or George Clooney’s brooding Dr. Douglas Ross from the hit series “ER”?
The rise of machines will bring a new value to emotional intelligence, or EQ, says Chamorro-Premuzic.
This could explain why nursing is at the top of the list of future-proof professions, as it is the healthcare profession that perhaps places the most emphasis on interpersonal skills.
“If you rely on your empathy and social skills, you’re probably more confident,” says Chamorro-Premuzic.
He believes that AI will have a similar effect on upgrading this sector as it has on art.
“You can use Tinder to find a date, but if you can afford it, you can hire a matchmaker,” he says.
“The same goes if you’re trying to find an employee. “There’s a lot of technology to help you recruit, but if you’ve got a lot of money, hire a recruiter.”
There is also the question of how well artificial intelligence could assess a potential employee’s emotional intelligence and how this would fit into an organization’s culture.
The importance of human relationships in customer service is already most clearly expressed in banks.
The cashier’s traditional job of counting money has been taken over by machines, and staff are now more focused on connecting with customers and launching new products.
Among occupations that value interpersonal skills, mental health counselors are ranked 4th on the US Career Institute list of occupations with the lowest AI risk.
Other professions on the list include social workers and teachers.
Critical thinking
Lawyers, politicians, journalists
“The jobs that will be replaced will be data collectors,” says Bailer. “But to make decisions based on that data, you need people.”
Palmer agrees. She points to the financial services industry, which is using AI for tasks such as fraud detection, algorithmic trading, and personalized financial advice.
“However, complex financial decisions and strategic planning still require human expertise,” she adds.
In journalism, financial reports produced today by news agencies—and even Forbes—are often written by robots.
In Martin Scorsese’s 2019 marathon mafia film The Irishman, in which he co-starred with Joe Pesci (left), Robert De Niro (right) was artificially aged by AI.
Companies like Narrative Science offer software that can turn data into something understandable.
The company’s chief scientist previously predicted that in the future, 90 percent of messages will be written by machines.
However, this does not mean that 90 percent of journalist jobs will be eliminated.
As with the entire labor market, they will simply adapt. Rather than publishing stories based on datasets, real journalists can focus on stories of human interest and unearth new information that isn’t already available online.
These jobs also require creative thinking. Lawyers could use robots to analyze reams of documents for them, but when it comes to devising a new legal strategy, they have to rely on their own initiative.
Could a robot have dreamed up RICO to take down the mafia?
skilled worker
plumber, electrician, handyman
AI has already made significant strides in automating processes in factories and warehouses.
The number of artisans also declined in previous decades as mass production allowed consumers to buy cheap goods that once would have been made by hand.
However, most experts believe that skilled labor is one of the areas best spared from the AI revolution, as it requires physical dexterity and ever-changing requirements.
In fact, these workers have a better chance of surviving than those with Ivy League degrees, many of whom have already suffered layoffs in the tech sector.
To automate these tasks, you need a Star Wars C-3PO.
Are we all doomed?
Chatbots, introduced by major tech companies such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, have amazed observers by their ability to compose poetry or paint pictures in the style of famous artists
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
The experts think it’s child’s play to predict the future. In 2013, three economists at Oxford University’s Said Business School published a volume entitled “Big Data” in which they predicted that 80 percent of jobs would disappear over the next decade.
That is demonstrably “far away”, says Chamorro-Premuzic.
Anyway, what’s the big problem? He points out that 60 percent of today’s jobs didn’t exist in 1950, but it’s possible that this kind of redevelopment could now be squeezed into 20 years.
This appears to be backed up by a study by consulting firm McKinsey released earlier this year, which predicts when technology will be able to match human performance levels in various skills.
It compares predictions to 2017, before generative AI hit the headlines.
In 2017, the range of expert predictions as to when AI would be as creative as humans stretched from 2030 to the mid-2060s, while now even the most cautious mind predicts it will be no later than 2031.
Similarly, some pregenerative AI predictions said that robots would not reach our levels of social and emotional thinking until 2070, but now the most conservative prediction is 2039.
But now is not the time to panic. “It may be that everyone’s workplace will change dramatically over the next decade, to the point where it feels like we’ve taken on new positions,” says Chamorro-Premuzic.
Who will sink and swim will depend on who can master these revolutionary tools, but there’s no reason to believe humans won’t be needed.