Opinion: AI Assistants Will Not Replace All Our Jobs Yet, But We Must Act Now

A few days ago, I was talking to a group of friends—all professionals around the age of 30—about ChatGPT and AI tools and how these can be helpful at work. I noticed that only one of them frequently uses the popular AI assistant. Most of them have used it just a couple of times, and I was shocked to learn that one of them has never used it and had little interest in this technology.

“I don’t really need it,” they said. I’m someone who feels uneasy about this technology and its potential impact on all sorts of professions—especially considering how fast it’s evolving. In turn, I also care about the future of my closest friends, so this conversation concerned me. Aren’t we all aware that we are currently experiencing a disruptive era in the job market worldwide?

It’s been years since the idea formed that artificial intelligence is the new Industrial Revolution, fluttering and spreading excitement and anxiety among individuals and businesses all over the world.

One of the biggest fears resulting from the most recent technological advancements in AI (and how quickly these advancements happen) is the loss of current jobs, notably since massive layoffs in the tech industry have seen hundreds of thousands of lost jobs since 2022. Over 263,000 layoffs occurred in the tech industry globally in 2023, and the trend continues.

According to TechCrunch, over 60,000 employees have lost their jobs at successful tech companies, including Google, Tesla, Microsoft, TikTok, and Amazon, since January.

“Probably none of us will have a job,” said Elon Musk remotely at the Viva Technology conference last week after being asked if he was concerned about AI taking over jobs. While his approach sounded appealing by assuring that jobs would become more like optional hobbies and we would all get a universal high income, we still live in an ecosystem where jobs are necessary for survival, and being unemployed can be utterly nerve-wracking.

There has been a lot of speculation about which jobs will be the first to disappear, especially after OpenAI showed the world the multidimensional capabilities of the new model GPT4-o.

I’ve been unskillfully surfing the threatening wave of “generative AI is taking our jobs” since ChatGPT was launched and its potential went viral in 2022. From its release, everyone said it was the end of journalists, editors, translators, and artists, but I’m still here writing this on my own.

When I first used ChatGPT and recognized its flaws, I found it somewhat relieving. However, I’ve noticed how generative AI has drastically improved since then and how that wave of speculation has increased to include more professions potentially under threat.

Thousands of users on social media and online forums have been engaging in the employment debates since ChatGPT’s initial release. And the new AI assistant updates have fueled even more discussions. “With the recent release of ChatGPT4-o, I think a lot of online teachers, professors, and translators might get fired next year,” said one user on X.

“AI caused my entire department to be let go in August. Six people all of whom had been with the company for at least 20 years. I am in the legal field and I am seeing AI already cutting jobs and if not cutting jobs cutting pay rates,” said another user on Reddit.

Generative AI has substantially lowered costs for companies, making it difficult to understand why they would choose slower, more expensive, and less efficient human workers for certain positions. Fintech company Klarna recently announced AI has helped reduce around $10 million in annual marketing campaign costs.

“Using GenAI tools like Midjourney, DALL-E, and Firefly for image generation, Klarna said it has reduced image production costs by $6 million,” reported Reuters. The remaining $4 million is related to external providers no longer needed—for translations, productions, and social agencies—and new AI assistants doing the equivalent of what 700 full-time workers would do before the company’s partnership with OpenAI.

The generative AI revolution is already here, the problem is that most people aren’t even aware. According to a study on Generative AI adoption by the Reuters Institute and Oxford University published only a few days ago, between 20% and 30% of the online population in Argentina, Denmark, France, Japan, the UK, and the USA haven’t even heard of any of the most popular AI tools.

While the majority of the population has some notion of what generative AI is and what chatbots can do, the research also proves that most people have only used AI assistants once or twice, and only a reduced percentage uses the technology on a daily basis: 7% in the USA, 2% in the UK and France, and just 1% in Japan.

Although artificial intelligence’s impact is affecting millions of jobs worldwide, there’s still a long educational road to travel. But most people are too busy, too afraid, not curious enough, or simply having a hard time keeping up with all the massive updates.

Even I, a journalist invested in technology who constantly writes and learns about generative AI, have been having a challenging time keeping up with the latest advances and learning how to use these technologies. Is it even possible, considering our human nature, to fully adopt generative AI?

History Reminds Us Not to Panic, But to Act

Learning that many jobs—even the “reliable” IT professions of the future like software developers and data analysts—are susceptible to being displaced by artificial intelligence soon made me panic and want to run in circles of despair. I try to stay calm and find ways to understand the possible outcomes, solutions, and options.

Many experts and users on social media channels and forums agree on a popular premise: History has taught us that technological developments lead to new job opportunities, and the Industrial Revolution is a perfect example.

“It’s true that new technology often destroys existing jobs, but it also creates many new possibilities through several different channels. Think of cloth making back in the early 19th century or automobile making in the early 20th century,” said Richard Cooper, Maurits C. Boas Professor of International Economics at Harvard University, during a podcast interview for the McKinsey Global Institute in 2018. “And roughly once a generation, we have a near panic by some people because technology is destroying jobs.”

It was very comforting for me to know that panicking is normal and historically expected.

On Reddit, users have reflected on solutions and discussed future transitions. “I think AI will decimate some very specific job categories, but people really like interacting with other people so many of those jobs will remain with fairly minimal impact,” wrote a user after listing what they considered “safe” professions and trades like firemen, plumbers, hair stylists, and teachers.

Another replied that without a stable economy, it would still be difficult to sustain these “safe” jobs, and others believe that it is impossible to predict what will happen to the job market in the near future. The only certainty, indeed, is that we are experiencing a profound transformational shift right now.

Karin Kimbrough, Chief Economist at LinkedIn, talked about success in the workplace in our current AI environment a few months ago at the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings in 2023. “As job roles will no longer remain static, professionals will need to adapt, leaning into AI while embracing a skills-first mindset as they continuously assess and improve both the technical and people skills needed to stay competitive in today’s ever-evolving job market.”

Learning more about AI is crucial and urgent for workers to thrive and adapt, even if the companies are not providing the necessary tools and resources for employees to keep up with the new technologies.

OpenAI, Google, and other tech giants have published free online courses, training, and certifications to develop new AI skills. Multiple online platforms, books, webinars, and formal education at universities are available for those interested worldwide.

I recently tried to find a reputable course to help me learn how to use AI in journalism, but from what I found, I couldn’t help but wonder: is 2023 already too old? Is that course from January up to date with the new AI assistants updates? Is it worth it to take a course that will take months to finish if the release of a new AI model is just around the corner?

I’ve come to terms with accepting that we cannot compete against chatbots. We can only do the best we can to understand our own situation and take it one day at a time while we navigate this new industrial revolution.

And remember, if you feel stuck or don’t know where to start, there’s a new magic phrase—and action— that will often help put you on the right track: ask ChatGPT.