“AI is coming for your JOB: Bots could take 80% of human careers…”
“ChatGPT took their jobs. Now they walk dogs…”
“Before AI takes over, make plans to give everyone money.”
These are a few headlines among many that are making the claim that AI will put us all out of work.
And it didn’t take long for stories of people being laid off because of AI to start circulating.
The Washington Post recently ran a story on a marketing copywriter that was replaced by AI because it was cheaper.
Stories like that are being used to stoke fears about AI coming for our jobs.
Will AI replace some jobs? Sure.
But will AI lead to mass unemployment? Not a chance.
Based on my research, AI will be a job creator.
Let me explain.
New Tech Creates Opportunity
Consulting giant McKinsey found that generative AI has the potential to automate 60%-70% of an employee’s working time. That means that AI will alleviate much of the “grunt work” for white collar jobs.
And that will increase productivity and cut down on some jobs, like administrative work.
But it also opens up entirely new opportunities.
That’s because every boost in productivity has led to a net gain in jobs and opportunities.
We can have a look back at history and how other breakthrough technologies have created more jobs than they’ve replaced. The internet was supposed to kill brick-and-mortar stores, for instance.
And while we have seen a slowdown in growth of physical stores, there’s been an explosion in e-commerce sites. The internet has enabled millions of people to create online stores that may not have done so if they had to lease a storefront and rely on foot traffic.
The digital revolution was supposed to put millions out of work. Record stores and film development labs were once strip mall staples. Today they’re all but gone.
But the birth of digital music and photography has empowered artists to independently publish their work and make a living off of it.
Cloud computing was supposed to wipe out IT jobs as companies ditched their self-run servers and databases in favor of the cloud. But the International Data Corporation (IDC) found that cloud computing added 6.3 million IT jobs to service cloud computing development.
That’s not to mention the rise of businesses like Netflix, Uber, Airbnb, and Slack. These companies were able to scale as quickly as they have because of cloud computing.
AI Unleashes Creativity
The need for human creativity will never be replaced.
Will.i.am is an accomplished musician, entrepreneur, and investor. He’s sold more than 58 million singles. And he was an early investor in headphone brand, Beats. Apple purchased the brand in 2014 for $3 billion.
In a recent interview, he shared why he thinks AI is a job creator.
“If you are tied to yesterday and just comfortable with mediocrity, then it’s a job destroyer. Use AI to solve problems, and then by that problem that you solve, it will create jobs.”
What AI will replace are the mundane tasks that disrupt creativity.
Early on as a web developer, I spent most of my time trying to find snippets of code.
That’s because most developers don’t type out code like a storyteller writes a book.
The process relies on searching for code that already exists and modifying it. There’s also the time spent trying to fix code that isn’t working.
A recent survey found 92% of U.S.-based developers are using AI-powered coding tools at work.
Tools like Github’s AI Copilot makes writing code faster and easier.
A developer just tells Copilot what they want, and it spits out the code to do just that.
That allows developers to spend more time on designing a great website or app… rather than searching for the right lines of code. AI is going to enable people to be more creative.
So do not let the headlines about AI causing mass unemployment turn you off from investing in AI.
In the weeks, months, and years ahead, we’ll see new opportunities for entrepreneurs, artists, and employees to benefit from AI. Much like the digital and cloud revolutions, AI is proving to be a useful tool and profitable for those who invest early on.
Regards,
Colin Tedards
Editor, The Bleeding Edge