The Future of Work: AI vs Human Intelligence — Who Really Wins?
The idea of computers or robots taking over jobs isn’t new. Ever since the Industrial Revolution shook up the world more than 100 years ago, people have understood that their jobs may become obsolete if a machine could perform them faster and more efficiently. However, there is no need for anyone to panic just yet. There are certain things that artificial intelligence (AI), the driving force behind much of the employment anxiety, simply cannot do.
Can AI Really Perform All the Work Expected of Humans?
In March 2023, Goldman Sachs released a report predicting that AI could complete at least one-quarter of all work currently performed by humans. The report paints a dismal picture for employees in the United States and the United Kingdom by predicting the loss of 300 million jobs to automated processes.
The Goldman Sachs report explores what would happen if AI took over so many jobs so suddenly. The move would affect hundreds of millions of families, of course, but it could also have a negative impact on entire work systems and the world economy. Even so, most financial analysts state that AI’s inability to perform distinctly human functions means that the fears so many people around the world have about losing their jobs may never come to fruition.
Humans Will Always Be Superior to Machines
Robots and computers don’t have emotional intelligence, nor are they capable of thinking beyond how someone programmed them. For example, if an IT professional programs a computer to clean up its own trash each day and it runs into an obstacle, files will continue to accumulate on the computer until someone notices them. Depending on the size and contents of the files, it may be too late by then to prevent them from damaging the computer.
Are Some Categories of Jobs Safer Than Others?
People who work in creative industries like publishing and graphic design may have a bit more job security than a machinist or computer programmer because they have skills not easily replicated by machines. However, people who work in these industries should understand the caveat that comes with this statement. Computer algorithms can and will duplicate certain designs unless the person who created them has obtained a patent.
Nursing and similar jobs that require people to interact on a close personal basis with others are a second category of career that will be harder for AI to penetrate. Journalists, business consultants, and mental health therapists are additional examples of jobs that require an intense level of human interaction that AI cannot deliver.
Jobs that require people to be on the go and think on their feet a lot could also be safer from AI takeover than other types of positions. Some people in the trade industry even predict that these types of careers will be impossible to automate, no matter how much technology changes.
The Government’s Response Matters
Recent research conducted at Princeton University indicates that industries subject to the heaviest government regulation face the greatest danger of losing jobs to AI. At the same time, replacing teachers, police officers, lawyers, and those in related fields would be exceedingly difficult. What the government needs to do instead is concede the AI gains and establish new jobs to replace the ones that robots and computers made obsolete.
The government has always stepped in to play the role of negotiator in this situation, and the country can benefit from it doing so again. From lowered production costs to an increased demand for products and services, the changes brought about by AI don’t always have to be bad ones.
