The future of AI: where does your job stand?

Picture this: you get home late to find a long-awaited package at your door. It’s the new keyboard you ordered for your work laptop, and you hurry to test it out. But it’s not compatible with your computer model. 

So, you head to the retailer’s customer service webpage to initiate the return. A chat window pops up, and a bot attends to your concerns. It offers you an adapter or a full refund. You choose the latter, and the bot processes your decision and emails you a return shipping label in minutes. 

The interaction leaves you thinking artificial intelligence (AI) is great. But you also wonder what’s happening to the human customer service agents. Does the future of AI mean they will soon be out of jobs? 

In customer service and many other fields, AI supports human work. If you’d had a more complicated return request, the bot would have connected you with a live customer service agent. But AI gets smarter by the day, begging the question: what happens when these tools can take on the more involved work humans do now?

What’s artificial intelligence technology?

AI technology is a computer simulation of human intelligence. This means that machines perform similar cognitive actions to humans, like reasoning, problem-solving, calculating, and more. You can observe real-life examples of AI at work in chatbots, voice assistants like Alexa or Siri, or task automation applications. 

Developers program computers to think like humans, or computers teach themselves through a process called machine learning. In machine learning, computers gather and analyze data to identify patterns and make decisions or predictions without human input. 

When your email inbox filters a message to spam, that’s the effect of machine learning — a computer deriving patterns from the emails you genuinely wish to read and deciding which aren’t useful or well-intentioned. The same goes for predictive text. The intelligent machine behind your word processor or messaging app finishes your sentences by learning phrases people tend to say.   

The development of artificial intelligence as of 2023

In 1950, Alan Turing published a paper entitled “Computing Machinery and Intelligence”. In it, he explored computers’ capacity to think like human beings, birthing the notion of AI. Computers weren’t widely available then — and not nearly as capable as they are today — making testing Turing’s theory challenging. 

In the following years, scientists set out to test and prove that computers could mimic human thought with limited success, as these machines didn’t yet hold or process nearly as much information as real brains. 

But computer science steadily advanced, and machines’ brains grew. By 1997, a computer defeated chess expert Gary Kasparov at the game. 

And as machine’s learning capacity skyrocketed in the subsequent decades, society entered the era of “big data.” Computers hold an astounding amount of information, much more than human brains can process. Now, machines’ data-crunching and modeling capabilities make them excellent tools for automating tasks. 

While intelligent, computers aren’t sentient, nor are they instinctively creative. When comparing the two, only human minds can feel and generate innovative ideas that don’t rely on data processing and learned functions. 

Artificial intelligence scope in the future of work 

A report positing ideas about the future of technology in 2050 or beyond may contain some sound predictions for AI. But predictions change. Technology develops in unexpected ways, laws limit its use, and humans step toward and away from these tools in ways that are challenging to foresee. 

But it’s natural to be curious about how AI could benefit your work. Will these tools make your workflow even faster? Will they help you achieve goals in less time? And how else will they make your life easier? 

Here’s an exploration of how the development of AI might impact several professional fields. 

Human resources 

Recruiting experts predict AI will help humans choose the right talent for open roles, automate routine workflows, and promote employee growth.

AI can help human resources (HR) departments compile datasets on applicant and employee strengths to make more informed and personalized decisions about who to hire or how to train an existing team member. And AI will also save HR time by scheduling interviews, onboarding employees, and compiling data for performance reviews. 

Education

Advances in AI promise to enable more adaptive learning, generating better educational solutions for a diverse range of students. 

AI’s data-crunching power can help teachers tailor lessons to pupil’s needs. For example, AI could offer learning suggestions for neurodiverse students who have trouble understanding a lesson plan that works for others. 

As AI is typically proficient at “closed,” “uncreative” tasks, like marking correct answers on an exam or guiding students through games, teachers will continue to foster innovative learning, encouraging artistic exploration and unique problem-solving approaches. They can automate some elements of scheduling and marking, giving them more time to teach. 

Healthcare

Perhaps you heard the news story about AI implants that allowed a paralyzed man to move his hands. Yes, AI can help medical professionals aid patients better than ever — but it has its limits.

Smart stethoscopes help doctors discover heart disease, AI tools determine cancer cells in scans, and databases generate functional medication combinations for patients. But other AI-assisted tools, like robotic surgery, have downsides and rely on human supervision. Medical professionals must have the training and resources to acquire and correctly use this machinery, and robots may inadvertently cause nerve damage in surgery.

And on the administrative side of healthcare work, AI centralizes personal data, makes educated predictions like how many emergency beds a hospital will need in an evening, and mitigates manual data entry for billing and coding procedures. Automation supports healthcare professionals in providing the best possible care. However, AI data management can also imply a security risk. Hackers could gain access to patients’ medical records.

Media

AI advancements make it possible for Netflix to curate a watch list aligned to viewers interests and track the success of ads presented to them while using their favorite streaming platforms. And in the future, AI will likely push personalization further with bespoke immersive experiences via augmented reality. If you work in media, this leap translates to higher levels of engagement with your viewers. 

And while personalization functionality is handy when for someone having trouble picking a movie, it can also feel limiting. Viewers may miss out on content the algorithm hasn’t recommended or start seeing a lot of the same. 

Marketing

When you open your social media accounts today, you’ll probably see an ad that piques your interest. That’s no mistake. Advertisers use data to market targeted items and experiences to you. And in the future, AI could allow ad personalization to reach new heights. 

Generative AI, which can already create landing pages, consumer emails, and social media ads, will amp up this power by creating content especially for you. But marketers need not fear for their jobs. AI’s grammar-checking ability isn’t yet strong enough for ads to go out without passing by a human set of eyes. What’s more, AI runs the risk of pulling data for ads from competitor marketing content, creating potential plagiarism issues and marketplace overlaps that human intervention can prevent.

Banking

Good banking experiences rely on solid customer service. So, banking institutions will leverage AI to provide more enjoyable and accurate interactions with customers, as well as provide them with better information. 

​​AI can support banks in providing customized services by analyzing user data and helping provide real-time answers to questions. This technology also facilitates routine tasks that make redundant work for agents — like providing balances or helping customers reset their passwords. Good banking experiences also rely on safety, and banks can use AI technology to monitor transactions for fraudulent activities. 

Bots may even start offering direction on investing. That said, consumers will continue to need personalized advising from a human. Chat GPT can explain the difference between a Roth IRA and a traditional one, but AI tools can’t (and shouldn’t) strategize. “Hallucinations” or false information — in this case, data points like non-existent financial transactions — can taint AI’s understanding of a person’s economic status. Plus, AI tools require that users ask the right investing questions to get sound answers. So, it’s best to converse with a human adviser who can correctly present and analyze information and strategize. 

Customer service providers

If you work in customer service, you may look forward to the prospect of conversational AI, like chatbots doing some of your job. 

AI can speedily answer routine inquiries that take up time you could be spending on more complex service issues. And if you’re a customer service manager, AI’s help comes with even more good news. Your team can avoid burnout by minimizing monotonous tasks, remaining empathetic and sharp while interacting with customers. With more free time, service professionals can also focus on building relationships and improving customer satisfaction.

Law

Practicing law means making sound judgments and astutely interviewing and observing people. These are tasks that AI is unlikely to be able to perform. Law is a career that will extend into the future, with AI tools helping to minimize mundane tasks — with human supervision. 

AI technology can take over data gathering so lawyers can spend more time analyzing information and advising clients. That said, lawyers will have to monitor the technology’s accuracy, as AI can provide information and confident conclusions that aren’t as founded as these tools may claim. In June of 2023, a New York lawyer was tried in court for using Chat GPT to gather data — which turned out to contain information on fake cases. 

Manufacturing

Manufacturing companies have long aimed to create better products more quickly, with less waste and fewer errors. And the predictive qualities of AI make these goals more possible than ever. AI can use data to model more efficient methods for creating quality products and optimizing production lines. 

And companies will also use generative AI to design products and optimize features. Forbes describes how General Motors already uses generative AI to create lighter, more cost-effective parts.

Transportation

With self-driving cars already on the market, what’s next for AI and transportation? In short, more autonomous features. 

Tesla created a self-driving truck, and Uber is experimenting with autonomous rideshares. European countries are even launching driverless buses. The trend extends to AI research with the potential for self-piloting airplanes and flying drone taxis. And, in the meantime, AI can support pilots in flight, making this form of transportation even safer. 

If the idea of AI pilots and self-driving cars makes you nervous, that reaction isn’t unreasonable. While autonomous transportation presents exciting advances, there have also been tragedies. In just a four-month period in 2021, 11 fatalities resulted from self-driving car accidents. The automation isn’t perfect yet, and human drivers will need to at least oversee transportation for the coming years. 

Outside of autonomous vehicles, AI will also support the transportation industry with traffic management solutions. Much like GPS applications like Waze guide users around jams and dangerous obstacles, similar tools will provide traffic support for air and sea travel. With humans making fewer decisions, transportation becomes safer and congestion diminishes. 

Will features of artificial intelligence replace your job?

AI technology provides a powerful suite of features, but even the best tools require a certain level of human intervention. 

Take the example of AI making rushed and overly confident legal decisions. A lawyer still needs to review the findings machines produce. Or consider the idea of self-flying airplanes. While an aircraft may soon be able to guide itself, not all flyers feel comfortable without a human pilot supervising the system. Pilots and lawyers will likely continue to have jobs even if a machine could take over their work. 

But AI can completely replace some roles. For example, AI is proficient at handling straightforward customer service conversations, diminishing the work professionals in this field need to do and, in turn, reducing jobs. The same goes for reception work, as automated answering systems already manage many calls. Other at-risk positions include accounting, translating, proofreading, and retail work like inventory tracking. 

Technology has long spurred changes in the way humans work. During the 19th century’s industrial revolution, milling decimated the need for artisanal work. And robotic automation in the automobile industry reduced roles for human workers throughout the 20th century. These changes lead to lay-offs that are painful for those who enjoyed their careers and need to make ends meet.

If you’re concerned about the ways AI could impact workplaces, you’re not alone. You can protect yourself from the uncertainty of changing technological landscape by staying flexible. 

If AI replaces jobs in your industry, you can pivot. You have transferable skills to use in another industry, and you can seek the guidance and support of a career coach as you navigate challenging professional shifts. If you’re already concerned about an AI breakthrough replacing your position, it may help to research and start gaining skills now for a job that AI systems are unlikely to take.   

The future of artificial intelligence is nothing without you

Virtually every industry will experience the impacts of AI technology — and in many cases, the shifts will help you work more efficiently and focus on tasks you enjoy.

And while it’s wise to recognize that AI can completely replace task work or even some jobs, remember the following, too. AI developments can’t replace your innovative edge or the empathy that allows you to connect with consumers or clients.