AI won’t take jobs away from humans. Humans using AI will.
As we outlined in our previous post about the AI revolution, and whether it is for real this time (spoiler alert: it is), the advancements of AI models such as GPT-3 have thrust the conversation forward by several orders of magnitude. For the first time, AI has become part of the mainstream conversation to the point where many people have already made ChatGPT a part of their daily workflow. Whether you’re a coder, copywriter, business analyst or writing a screenplay, ChatGPT can help enhance your productivity—by a lot.
Naturally, this sparked the age old conversation yet again, whether AI and Bots were going to take away jobs from humans. Both sides of the debate make compelling arguments as to why this will or won’t happen. The truth however is that the framing of the question is incorrect. A better way to think about this is somewhere in the middle.
AI augmentation is the way to go
It’s true, that today AI by itself cannot reach the level of critical thinking or understand nuance as well as a human can. Perhaps in the distant future, with AGI (artificial general intelligence), this will be a solved problem. But for the near future, this is not the case. With that being said, AI does offer a tremendous amount of benefit and productivity boost by assisting with tasks that may otherwise take someone hours if not days to complete. What we’ve found is that AI is most valuable when guided and assisted by a person. This way, you get the best of both worlds. The human is able to take into account the nuance and ground realities, factor those in, point the AI in the right direction, and let it do the heavy lifting.
Advantages and caveats
There are many advantages that a person using AI has over someone who isn’t. Some of the key advantages include:
- Increased productivity and efficiency: AI can automate repetitive tasks, freeing up time for humans to focus on more complex and creative work. This can lead to increased productivity and efficiency.
- Improved decision making: AI can assist humans in making more accurate, data-driven decisions. This can help to improve the quality of decisions and reduce the risk of errors.
- Greater access to information: AI can process vast amounts of data quickly and accurately, providing humans with access to more information than they would be able to gather on their own.
- Personalization and customization: AI can be used to personalize products and services to meet the needs of individual customers, leading to a better customer experience.
- Predictive capabilities: AI can be used to analyze data and make predictions about future trends, allowing individuals to make more informed decisions.
- Cost savings: By automating repetitive tasks, AI can help to reduce labor costs and increase efficiency, leading to cost savings for businesses.
- Better job opportunities: As AI becomes more prevalent in the workforce, individuals with the skills and knowledge to work with the technology will have a competitive advantage in the job market.
- Improved safety: AI can be used to monitor and control dangerous environments, providing for a safer work environment.
However, it’s important to note that the advantages of AI are dependent on the specific context and application, and the benefits of AI may vary depending on the industry, company or individual. Additionally, as AI becomes more prevalent, it is important to ensure that the benefits of AI are widely shared and that policies are in place to mitigate the negative impacts of AI on employment.
Conclusion — a bright future
AI has the potential to change the way we work and live, and it is important to be mindful of its potential impact on employment. However, it is important to note that the impact of AI on employment will depend on how it is implemented. If AI is deployed in a way that is not inclusive and equitable, it could exacerbate existing inequalities and lead to job losses for certain groups of people. In order to ensure that the benefits of AI are widely shared, it is crucial to invest in training and education programs that prepare individuals for the jobs of the future. Additionally, policies that support worker retraining, income support, and social safety nets will be important to mitigate the negative impacts of AI on employment.
The good news is, the entire point of AI is to make things easier for us humans. The every day worker will not need to know the intricacies of neural nets and deep learning to maximize their gains from AI. They will simply need to know how they can leverage the technology to get the answers they need to make smart decisions. These are skills that can and will be taught to future generations of workers.
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