There is currently a vigorous debate over whether artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to wipe humanity off the face of the earth.
This much, though, is already clear. Perhaps before running afoul of us, AI will intrude itself into almost every aspect of human existence, especially work.
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And its first, most significant notice of arrival is the replacement of a whole host of human works.
But not just anyone’s job. In partnership with Bloomberg, the workforce analytics firm Ravello decided to take a survey conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which identified jobs disrupted by AI, and then put a gender filter on the results.
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The result The process was alarming. At least 10 million jobs, or 71% of the total jobs threatened by AI, include women in ‘support’ roles — bill and accounts collectors (82.9%), payroll and timekeeping clerks (79.7%), executive secretaries (74.3%), wards processors and typists (65.4%), and bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks (65%).
Gendercad
The result reads like a cruel joke. After centuries of being out of the workforce, shockingly late given the right to vote, and brought into the workforce to help with various war efforts in the last century, women have subsequently had to fight hard to make gains in the workplace.
Percentage of women in AI-exposed positions Ravello
Only a third (34%) of working women (16 and over) participated labor market in 1950, but by 2016 more than half (57%) of working-age women were able to find themselves in the workforce.
Women today underrepresented Management in higher positions. They accounted for just 20.5% of C-suite positions at companies in the S&P index in 2021, up from just 16% in 2015. And just 10.4% of Fortune 500 companies have women as CEOs
Still, these advances are steady, much-needed gains for society, which is why any shock caused by generative AI could be catastrophic.
“The gender distribution across occupations reflects deep-rooted biases in our society, where women are often confined to roles such as administrative assistants and secretaries,” said Haki Özdenoren, economist at Revelio Labs. “As a result, AI’s impact skews along gender lines.”
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Other studies, including one conducted by the Pew Research Center, all came to the same conclusion.
For example, Pew to test 41 required job programs in 873 occupations from the US Department of Labor Professional Information Networkand showed that a greater proportion of women (21%) than men (17%) are at risk of losing their jobs due to AI.
Another study, from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, approx About 79% of all working women (about 59 million people) are threatened by AI. The proportion for men was 58%.
Women who work as budget analysts, data-entry keyers, tax preparers, technical writers and web developers will all find AI creeping into their environment.
Once again, women have to fight hard by taking proactive steps to elevate themselves and find upstream opportunities in areas where machines do not tread.
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Indeed, any type of work that involves organizing, planning, managing, or navigating complex codes or regulations (such as junior staff of accounting, finance or legal, and tax specialists) is going to be at risk of being slow. replaced, experts say.
And what’s more, the potential impact of AI on jobs is proving even more significant.
White-collar blues
It turns out that AI has another seemingly unlikely group in its cross-hairs: highly skilled, white-collar workers.
Clearly, AI–initially, at least–will not engage in the kind of class warfare that its predecessors, such as robots on automotive assembly lines, have waged to decimate the ranks of blue-collar workers.
Now, according to the same Pew report, AI has instead become the playing field for high-paying jobs — roles that require a college degree and highly valued skills including critical thinking, writing, science and math.
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The groups most affected are expected to be Asian workers and college graduates. Asian professionals are the most highly educated workforce and occupy a host of high-paying jobs that require advanced analytical and critical-thinking skills — where AI also excels.
Professionals with a bachelor’s degree or higher (27%) are twice as likely to see the most exposure to AI than those with only a high school diploma (12%).
Those least likely to be affected are those who perform uniquely human services — caring for children and the elderly, or working with equipment maintenance.
Blue-collar workers may heave a sigh of relief at being spared the scythe, but the bad news is that this will be a temporary respite from AI for certain types of blue-collar jobs. As technology and advanced robots melt more into manufacturing, experts say, some of these roles will begin to fade.
However, a plumber who often works on location, interacting with clients while troubleshooting and dealing with customers won’t be interchangeable anytime soon.
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But in a month or two an entire home construction crew that frames houses can be replaced by a giant 3D printer loaded with a CAD design capable of pouring your home’s foundation and walls in just a few days — and only two or three workers in the process. Supervising
It’s a situation that makes me feel that idea Universal Basic Income Never seemed so attractive.
Surviving and evolving
Amidst this gloom, it is important to note that technology has always resulted in some jobs being compromised while new ones are being created.
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It is also demonstrably true that machines cannot replicate the essence of what we humans are about — creatures with unique qualities such as empathy, creativity, cooperation, flexibility, drive and vision. It would take a long time for neural networks to be able to fire their artificial synapses in this way.
Nevertheless, it is crucial to re-skill ourselves for the future in such a way that AI can be presented as an ancillary support system that can be used for greater efficiency or speed rather than being seen as a job killer. After all, neither the calculator nor the assembly line eliminated accounting or manufacturing jobs. They just paved the way for higher-order ones.
Here are some tips and observations for surviving in the age of AI:
1. Use AI at any opportunity
Those who learn to use AI tools will be ahead of those who don’t. What does this translate to? For starters, learn how to write ChatGPT prompts, according to industry experts, with enough context, detail and good grammar.
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ChatGPT-style generative AI is essentially a large language module (LLM) whose entire construction is predicated on how words and sentences are digested and connected to each other in a training process. It is, in other words, a giant text prediction machine for now. So, better prompts that my ability to ask good questions framed in the right way will generate better responses. There is an entire mini-industry around this skill.
2. Stay up-to-date on AI trends and your community
We may be heading towards a future where we use AI for our daily work and play like we use the internet. Therefore, staying abreast of the latest trends and technologies and strengthening your knowledge of tools can help you stay relevant and in demand. Look for re-skilling or up-skilling opportunities that add multiple dimensions to your existing skill portfolio.
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Equally important, as AI technology advances there is a need to be part of a professional network that will help you stay on top of things. Industry experts recommend attending in-person and virtual networking events, staying active in online groups, and trying to attend the occasional conference or industry gathering. There will be connections that can be vital to your next job or promotion.
3. Engage in rigorous career analysis
If you haven’t thought about what you want to do next in your career, consider taking a regular exploratory future where careers are rapidly becoming AI-proof. These always include people occupations that will offer something that machines will always match, such as nurses and other healthcare workers, teachers, trainers and physical trainers.
However, the list includes blue-collar occupations such as plumbers, electricians and carpenters. They require problem-solving, design and manual skills on site that no robot trundling will be able to replicate with any degree of efficiency or speed.
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“Plumbing is one of the jobs least likely to be replaced in any significant way by automation in the near future,” said Amy Webb, CEO of the Future Institute.
“We have many types of toilets,” he added. “So there are no fine-tuned, finely-articulated robots that are still going to function on their own. It’s knowledge work that will find that they’ve either broken down or lost some capacity.”