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The rapid expansion of the availability of artificial intelligence is likely to lead to massive career changes in the not-too-distant future.
“AI will lead to a change in the workplace that we have not seen since the automation of workers in the 1970s and 1980s,” Christopher Alexander, chief analytics officer at Pioneer Development Group, told Fox News Digital. “The difference is that instead of factory workers being replaced by robotics, AI will replace less skilled office workers.”
Alexander’s comments come as a recent survey by market research firm Censuswide found that middle management office professionals are already adapting to the impact of AI on their careers, with 50% saying they are already using the technology in some form. However, many of these same professionals say they do not have a strong understanding of AI, and 53% say they would like more guidance or training on the new technology.
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A robot at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence bakes pizza in Bremen. (Ingo Wagner/picture Alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
While AI may initially only be used to increase the productivity of existing workers, Alexander believes the technology will lead to significant job losses.
“While industry apologists like to claim that AI will create a significant number of jobs, that is largely wishful thinking,” Alexander said. “If the types of AI envisioned for the near future do not replace workers, it would be pointless for a company to adopt them. In the short term, it is possible that many companies will simply reduce hiring as AI expansion increases labor productivity.”
As technology advances rapidly and companies begin to realize the ways in which it can be used, some believe there could be a rush to adopt AI for many tasks.
“With the advent of AI, there will be a rush to transform our economy by automating as much as possible and as quickly as possible,” Jon Schweppe, policy director of the American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital. “Some people will sell this as ‘good’ for the economy – and perhaps for tech stocks – but the reality is that it will have a devastating impact on the job market, potentially putting millions of people out of work.”
Samuel Mangold-Lenett, editor at The Federalist, expressed a similar opinion, arguing that some tasks once performed by humans will soon fall into the domain of AI.
“Why would someone hire an entry-level programmer when they can use an AI to perform the same task at a fraction of the cost? This is just one example, and as AI becomes more widespread, the same question needs to be asked in every industry,” Mangold-Lenett told Fox News Digital. “Why hire a human when an AI can do the same job? The best solution is to find ways to integrate industry with AI so that humanity becomes more productive but also does not become redundant.”
This image taken on January 23, 2023 in Toulouse, southwestern France, shows screens with the logos of OpenAI and ChatGPT. (LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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However, Phil Siegel, the founder of the Center for Advanced Preparedness and Threat Response Simulation, told Fox News Digital that with the introduction of AI there will also be opportunities that professionals must take advantage of.
“Mastering the new AI tools coming to market will enable employees to be more productive, get promoted and be ready for the next tools that come after,” Siegel said. “This is true of past booms such as the PC revolution, the Internet and social media. There are opportunities in design, programming, implementation and traditional roles that leverage the new technologies, such as sales, research and development and sales.”
Siegel warned that adopting AI in the workplace could also be more difficult than other economic transformations, arguing that using AI will require “more skills in logic and mathematics.”
“This is because the underlying technology of the products is more complex and mathematical in nature. “Many opportunities like previous booms, but also great risks for those who do not adapt and train in the new skills,” said Siegel.
Robot trading on the stock exchange, photo illustration. (iStock / iStock)
Meanwhile, Alexander believes there will be a whole new class of professionals tasked with ensuring a company’s AI strategy runs smoothly.
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“There will be a whole new class of experts – the prompt engineers. Prompts are key to using AI for a specific purpose, and that includes knowing how to speak to the AI effectively for optimal results,” Alexander said. “In addition, the ability to develop prompts and rules for purpose-built applications powered by larger AI systems will be another important area for employers to consider.”
“The way we work will be different, the number of people working on a given problem will be different, and the ‘IT guy’ that was so crucial to setting up computers for productivity , will have an even more important cousin in the form of the fast engineer who makes AI work as effectively as possible for a particular department or team.”