How AI Can Affect Jobs

As AI gets integrated into the workforce and begins to take over jobs, it is important to understand how it could potentially affect them and what ethical dilemmas could arise because of AI in the workforce.

While AI may replace many jobs, it will create some as well. According to an article from Forbes, “an impressive 97 million new roles are projected to emerge, reflecting a shift in the division of labor between humans, machines and algorithms.” Possible roles include machine learning engineers, data scientists and AI researchers.

Furthermore, AI is expected to help increase productivity, efficiency, and overall business revenue. In a survey done by SnapLogic, a total of 61% of employees said the AI helped increase their productivity and efficiency levels.

In addition to that, 81% said they believe AI helped improve their overall performance.

Lets take a look at how some jobs could be potentially affected by AI.

Jobs Likely to be replaced/heavily affected by AI:

Graphic Designer: While many still joke about AI “not being able to replace their job” Unfortunately, for some people, AI has already replaced them.  A former graphic designer (now a Youtuber) who goes by the name “Nadestraight” detailed his experience of being replaced by AI in a video down below.

Customer Service: Most questions customers have are repetitive and do not require humans. In fact, companies like Amazon, Delta Airlines, and Macy’s already use AI chatbots for customer service.

Research and analysis: While it may not be perfect right now, the processing power of modern computers allows for quick and effective analysis of data, potentially reducing the need for human analysts in the future.

Jobs Likely to be Somewhat Impacted by AI:

Journalist/Blogger: Although AI can write articles and blog posts, it has a tendency to be very factually incorrect and make stuff up. For example, a website known as zleague.gg (which uses AI for nearly all of their articles) once posted an article titled “World of Warcraft (WoW) Players Excited for Glorbo’s Introduction.” However, all of the information it got was from a Reddit post that was made to bait AIs into turning it into an article.

Coding/Computer Programming: Even though AI can generate code, it is unlikely to replace coders or computer programmers; instead, it will likely act as an assistant for helping programmers do things like debugging and code optimization. Additionally, AI can help programmers analyze vast amounts of data.

Content Creation: While AI is capable of writing scripts, doing voiceovers, and even generating videos, as of right now, it is unlikely to replace content creators (mainly because the scripts and voiceovers that AI makes sound unnatural and lack personality, which is important for keeping people engaged). Instead, it is better for getting ideas, creating titles, and writing descriptions. 

Ethical Concerns of Using AI for Jobs:

Although AI can have numerous benefits in terms of productivity and efficiency, it also raises some ethical concerns that need to be addressed.

1. Job Displacement: Despite the fact that AI has the potential to create more jobs, it also has the potential to replace some jobs, leading to unemployment due to the fact that some employees will have a difficult time making the transition from the job they used to have to a job safe from AI. 
2. Privacy: Since AI often requires large amounts of data (including some personal information) for training, it is important that companies make sure that this data is protected and collected in an ethical manner and not in a manner that could potentially lead to privacy violations. 
3. Transparency and Accountability: Because AI’s decision-making is often nontransparent, it can lead to a number of accountability issues, especially when AI makes decisions that could potentially be harmful.

In conclusion, while AI can be a very helpful tool, especially when it comes to things like increasing productivity and efficiency, it can also lead to numerous ethical dilemmas, which can potentially be harmful to employees, customers, or even the company itself.