The impact of AI on employment
With the development of ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), the ability of a computer program or a machine to think and learn, has become a source of anxiety for many people who fear being replaced in their job by AI and ChatGPT. For decades, people were concerned to be replaced by technology. Workers already in the 19th century were worried about the use of sewing machines as they could lose their jobs due to the introduction of technological progress. Today, people fear that AI will take their jobs. This fear is enhanced by the speed of technological change and by the number of people who could be negatively impacted by this technological change. According to the Pew Research Center, about 1 in 5 American workers have a job with high exposure to AI. Besides, the first negatively impacted might be women, white and Asian, higher earners and workers with a college degree.
According to MIT and Boston University. AI might replace 2 million jobs by 2025 in the US. The McKinsey Global Institute said that by 2030 70% of companies will have some sort of AI integrated in their company.
History tells us that whenever a technological advancement emerges, there are people who would criticize it or even revolt against it. To take advantage of a new technology, people have to overcome their fears and figure out how to use it and work alongside. All around the world renowned technology companies are investing heavily into AI like Google, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon. These companies are using AI to make new products and services.
AI can also have huge benefits for the world . In some jobs as local businesses AI can help generate names and ideas to make your business more effective and profitable. One the most popular AI platforms, ChatGPT, has over 180.5 million users worldwide which
AI is not human but programmed by humans to be as similar to humans as possible. Some people are afraid of the effects AI might have on the world and on their jobs but others are fascinated by AI and want to learn more about it. No doubt AI is fascinating but will AI be able to evolve to become more powerful in a way to be a threat to humans? AI might be designed to be as human as a software could be, but AI can’t have opinions about a subject but it is as neutral as could be if programmed correctly. AI might give answers which could state an idea like “dogs are better than cats,” but only if you ask or if it is programmed to do so.
AI can write an essay in a matter of seconds, which might take a human an hour. This brings us to another point, AI is way more efficient than a human will ever be. AI can write a full five paragraph essay in under 5 seconds, which would take a human up to 30 minutes or more. Jobs which could use Chatbots or be replaced by Chatbots are lawyers, research analysts and journalists.
In Romania AI is also used as a Government Advisor for the prime minister. This AI might take over real government advisors, however Romania is the only country to have introduced an AI government advisor so far.
AI can be a threat to human jobs, as those people might not be able to find new employment because they lack the necessary training or education as their job which they studied or trained for is no longer available and is being carried out by AI. However, a small company could use AI instead of having to pay an employee to do the same job AI could do in a shorter period of time than the human. More and more white collar jobs, hence jobs which use the brain (not manual jobs) are getting replaced by AI, these jobs for instance are lawyers, financial advisors and engineers.
New laws and legislations could be passed to regulate AI. The EU already passed about AI to make it useful and not harmful. The EU set the first set of laws about the use of AI in the world. Other countries or companies could and should set up rules or laws about the use of AI to ensure safety with the use of AI.
Some websites have AI chatbots to help you find the products on the website. This is more efficient than calling a real employee to help you. “Contact Us” pages are also less efficient and people can wait up to a week to get information. These bots might even help you find the product a customer is searching for on different websites or stores, which could save the person searching. a lot of time and energy.
Jobs that are at great risk of being replaced by AI are manual jobs, sales people, customer service representatives and retailers. These jobs require face to face, or over the phone communication. In these jobs AI can work more precisely than a human can and can easily create charts to analyze data, AI might also be more helpful as it can scan the internet in a matter of milliseconds and find information which can help the customer. Jobs that are not at risk of being taken over by AI are usually jobs where the customer needs human touch and connections, like surgeons, psychiatrists, lawyers and CEOs or managers or manual laborers like electricians, plumbers and builders.
AI works day and night without a break, a human however has to have lunch breaks, coffee breaks, has to leave at the end of the day and take holidays. AI can sometimes be more reliable and can adjust to the needs of their user.
Cars, buses, and other vehicles can drive by themselves which can be very useful for avoiding crashes as it can look at its surroundings, such as trees, other cars or even humans. According to recent Tesla statistics, on a US highway without AI algorithms a person on average before having an accident drives ½ million miles and with AI algorithms 5 million miles (TESLA autopilot).
AI is more precise, efficient, and cheaper than an employee but will AI be that big of a risk that people will live on the streets, or will humans be able to control AI and find a way to be able to maintain AI. According to Micheal Osborne and Carl Benedict Fry an estimated 47% of US jobs are at high risk of getting taken over by AI, however OECD said 9% of US jobs are at risk. The question is, will AI be a danger to employment or will it be a valuable tool?
