“Development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Stephen Hawking.
With the appearance of Artificial Intelligence, movies where machines take over the planet, don’t seem that unreal anymore. While Asimov’s Robot Laws are becoming a reality with self-driving cars, robot waiters, and Boston Dynamic’s dancing robots, people are worried about their jobs.
Automation software has been taking over manual routine tasks in many industries. There is no doubt about AI changing the way we live and work. How soon will it affect you?
According to a study by McKinsey Global Institute, six out of 10 occupations have more than 30% technically automatable activities. McKinsey predicts that in 10 years, between 400 million and 800 million people may be out of their jobs due to automation. Up to 375 million people would need to learn new skills to switch to new jobs.
Some of the jobs artificial intelligence could replace include mailmen, cashiers, sewing machine operators, farmers, travel agents, dispatchers, and telemarketers.
On the Bright Side
While figures we see in different studies may seem scary, Artificial Intelligence doesn’t just destroy jobs, it creates them too. According to a PwC study, by 2030, artificial intelligence, smart automation technologies, and robotics could add up to $15 trillion to the global GDP.
According to the report from the World Economic Forum, artificial intelligence could create 58 million jobs in the next few years.
To have a better understanding of how AI affects employment, let’s look at ATMs and banks.
Did the appearance of ATMs reduce the employment rate in banks? Just the opposite.
From technicians and manufacturers to programmers and analysts, ATMs have revolutionized the banking industry and created thousands of new job opportunities.
Which Jobs Opportunities will AI Create?
Numerous specialists are in high demand due to the growing use of artificial intelligence.
- Cybersecurity Specialists
One of the top industries, which is creating new jobs, is cybersecurity. As the world is going digital, the number of hackers seems to be growing exponentially. To deal with these threats, the world needs developers, testers, and cybersecurity specialists to keep the information and transactions safe. Today, the world is suffering a shortage of cybersecurity professionals. This demand contributed to industry growth and new job opportunities.
- Software Engineers
Software engineers are in high demand. Even though they have to adjust their skills to the AI-driven world, the need for such specialists is likely to increase. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of software developers is expected to grow by 21% by 2028.
- Machine Learning Experts
According to Indeed, the number of job postings for machine learning experts has grown by 344% between 2015 and 2018 (1).
Other AI-related jobs in demand right now are:
- Data scientist
- Software architect
- Data analyst
- Data warehouse engineer
- Full-stack developer
- Research scientist
- Front end developer
- Product manager
Jonathan Grudin, the principal researcher for Microsoft, believes: “Technology will continue to disrupt jobs, but more jobs seem likely to be created. When the world population was a few hundred million people there were hundreds of millions of jobs. Although there have always been unemployed people, when we reached a few billion people there were billions of jobs. There is no shortage of things that need to be done and that will not change.”
In Conclusion
When something revolutionizes the world we live in, there are always winners and losers. To become the former, it’s vital to stay on top of the latest developments and catch the moment when you need to learn new skills.
While Stephen Hawking may be right in the long run, today AI isn’t a threat to our well-being or employment opportunities.
