Artificial Intelligence (AI) is undoubtedly the current buzzword. While the advent and adoption of AI have been welcomed with gusto for the world of opportunities it is set to open, it comes with a price: job loss.
While ChatGPT stole the limelight at the end of last year, many more AI tools are creating waves, including Google's SlidesAI.io. This tool can build presentations, analyse and enter data, and write content quickly and efficiently, thereby removing the need for human intervention. Numerous.ai is another AI-driven tool that streamlines various data tasks.
With many more to come, AI is here to change the world. According to a report by investment bank Goldman Sachs, AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs.
The 2024 World Trend Index report released by Microsoft and LinkedIn states that around 45% of white-collar workers are worried that AI tools will eventually replace them. "The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is hitting the global labour force like a tsunami," says Kristaline Georgieva, International Monetary Fund managing director.
Here is a list of five jobs likely to be affected by the revolution of AI.
So, here is a brief list of jobs that could be affected by AI:
1. Software development jobs
Analysing vast amounts of data, assessing numerical equations, improving code quality, and rectifying bugs, jobs that are closely associated with software development are at risk with the revolution of AI tools. This includes the jobs of software engineers, coders, data analysts, and computer programmers.
In a report by Adecco Indian, over 15-20 per cent of people dropped out from coding jobs alone. According to an article that appeared on Linked In, about 60-70 % of coding jobs can be done by a generative AI like Github Copilot and AWS code whisperer.
Many firms prefer these revolutionary tools for their productivity and error-free results. The software development sector also uses the tool for software enhancement and to improve code quality. This has resulted in job obsoleteness. More software engineers are dependable on machinic capabilities which can affect their natural skills.
2. Media jobs (content creation, advertising, journalism, technical writing)
Reading long prose which reflects human emotions may be passe. This sector is at the risk of being automated. There are reports that Grammarly is letting go of 230 of its employees due to less demand for grammarians. Thanks to tools like Open AI and ChatGPT, which use Natural Language Processing (NLP) that generate human language effectively, many creative writers have switched to these tools.
3. Paralegals and legal assistants
Tools that analyse and interpret vast amounts of language-based data and information could be created, which could steal language-related roles susceptible to automation. Legal assistants are responsible for writing and analysing legal files, archiving the files in order, managing client bills, and proofreading the legal files. All these tasks are time-consuming and call for prolonged sitting to edit. Lawyers are now depending on tools like paralegal AI to closely narrow down the lengthy documents to the most relevant cases. Tasks like document drafting, editing, and reviewing are done more effectively with the help of an AI. But with these tools, human judgment and accuracy are put on hold in this sector.
4. Graphic Designers
With the advent of AI tools like Adobe Firefly, DALL-E, and Mid Journey, designers are crippled with ethical dilemmas and job displacement threats. Improving the colour grading, or removing the background, which would normally take hours by a designer is now easily completed, thanks to these tools. However, designers are left with questions about their creativity, which is now fogged with the usage of AI design tools. According to Nicola Hamilton, president of the Registered Graphic Designers, Chat GPT is becoming increasingly capable of doing our writing and planning, while Midjourney and DALL-E are creating pretty advanced artwork when given the right prompts. A question of transparency comes to the forefront as the sources of these images are hard to find.
5. Customer service agents
Efficient customer service is the foundation for business. Dealing with customer enquiries and giving instant responses is what every customer demands. Customers predict fast responses without a delay of not more than 6 seconds. With increasing business standards, most organisations are now reducing human labour in customer sectors.
With bots replacing humans in this field, customers are satisfied with quick responses and effective communication. However, automation of customer sectors has resulted in the lack of human touch.