Artificial Intelligence: Is your role at risk?

After a recent presentation, I was asked by a member of the audience how AI would reshape the hiring practices of companies. As automation of tasks and management of huge amounts of data increases in prevalence, who will thrive? The workers that AI will never be able to replace are those who can create and use data to generate new ideas or ways of doing things. Not those who are just doing established tasks.

The boundary between what a human can do and the machine contribution will be creativity. How can we change our process to be more efficient, creative and better prepared? Innovation drives all technological progress. Innovation is the force behind any successful company.

Companies all over the world are having sweeping layoffs in recent times. Many of these cuts were linked to AI systems taking over duties which have been traditionally handled by human staff. As companies deploy automated systems to manage logistics, customer support and data heavy tasks, reductions in work force are becoming more and more common. But people that can originate new ideas and solutions rather than just applying the existing ones will be in great demand. Originality and invention might be emerging as the strongest anchors for job security in the next phase of technological disruption. With major companies automating complex workflows, employees who rely solely on routine tasks may see their jobs transformed.

This is even changing retail. Walmart recently inked a deal with Open AI which will allow shoppers to directly make purchases through ChatGPT. The retailer has said that automaton has helped it keep its head count steady at about 2 million employees globally.

But let’s not make this sound like a catastrophe. It is expected that AI will reshape millions of jobs, but not necessarily eliminate them outright. It will bring about job transformation rather than displacement. Most at risk are routine cognitive jobs like data entry, clerical, paralegal and document review, basic journalism and content writing, customer service, and routine programming and debugging. These roles face task automation, meaning some tasks may be handled by AI even if the job isn’t fully replaced. Historically, automation hallowed out middle skill jobs (e.g. manufacturing). AI threatens to do similar things for office work. These would be tasks like HR screening, payroll, accounting support and basic project management.

Jobs requiring physical presence, dexterity, or interpersonal connection remain safe, but AI will change how the work is done. Examples of this are healthcare professionals using AI diagnostic tools, teachers using AI tutoring assistants, or trades like plumbing and electrical which automation struggles with.

But what jobs are likely to grow? AI and machine learning engineers, data governance security and compliance, prompt engineering and workflow integration, robotics maintenance, and human centered professions (therapists, social workers and educators). Historically, technology has created more jobs than it destroyed—but the transitions can be painful. It is estimated that a job may have 20-50% of tasks automated while the worker shifts to higher level skills.

The biggest danger is not mass long term unemployment but instead, workers being displaced faster than they can re-skill, AI enabling wage pressure on mid-skill office workers, and companies using AI for cost cutting, not worker augmentation.

But there is no doubt about it. AI is a major structural shift comparable to industrial revolution. In fact, I recently saw a noted economist comparing the two and he stated that the potential of this is far greater than the industrial revolution but happening much faster. Thinking back to your history lessons, you might remember that people thought machines would replace all manufacturing jobs, putting almost everyone out of work. AI does pose a threat for those in routine cognitive roles. However, with proper adaptation, AI can also increase productivity, create new industries and generate new types of work.

How disruptive it is, depends on how leaders make choices. Education and re-skilling are the biggest factors. Without massive retraining, displacement will hit harder. Corporate policy is also critical. If companies use AI primarily to augment workers, the transition is smoother. If they use it to replace workers disruption increases. So, the threat is serious, but not inherently destructive if managed well.

And I believe that we will manage it well! I see signs of it—don't you?