Are you afraid of artificial intelligence taking your job? Well, you certainly aren’t alone, but depending on your industry, you might have nothing to worry about at all.
Given the rise in popularity of platforms like ChatGPT and Google Bard, it’s safe to assume that employees around the world are concerned about the longevity of their careers. After all, these tools have been proven to seriously improve productivity when it comes to a wide range of tasks performed in the workplace.
But is AI actually replacing jobs in the business world today? In this guide, we’ll explore which roles are at risk, how widespread AI job replacements actually are, and what might be holding back advancements in the technology.
Which Jobs Is AI Replacing?
Our research into the Impact of Technology on the Workplace solicited a lot of information, not the least important of which was the kinds of jobs and tasks that are being replaced by AI.
Given the generative nature of AI platforms on the market today, some jobs seem riper for replacement than others. However, our research actually found the opposite, with writing (63%), design (51%), and language translation (50%) representing the tasks where AI tools have no impact on removing job roles.
However, other roles were not so lucky. Supply chain optimization, for example, was the most likely to be replaced by AI, with 72% of businesses admitting that had removed at least some jobs to perform the task. Other roles at the bottom of the list include legal research (65%), financial analysis (64%), and predictive maintenance on fixed assets (65%).
As for why, the report had some notable insights around the reasoning for job roles being replaced by AI:
“This is likely nothing more than a bottom-line decision, with these time-consuming, complex data-processing roles costing a lot of money to fill with well-trained professionals. Subsequently, being able to replace them with an automated system will save the company the most money, which is why they’re willing to risk forgoing a full-time employee to make it happen.” – Jennifer McIlveen, managing editor of Tech.co
As is often the case, the decisions on which roles are replaced by AI is largely driven by money. Subsequently, understanding how widespread AI job replacement can help you plan for the future.
How Widespread Are AI Job Replacements?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and the many platforms that have arisen from its advancement over the last few years are providing businesses with the tools to tackle big problems. In many cases, these services are streamlining and even automating roles, which means that some jobs are being replaced.
But how widespread is this change? Our research found that AI isn’t influencing job replacement nearly as much as you’d think, with only 4% of businesses saying that AI has had an extensive impact on replacing job roles. Even better, a whopping 53% of businesses surveyed noted that AI has had no impact on removing job roles.
“The problem isn’t dire just yet. Obviously, technology and AI have begun having an effect on job roles, but for the majority of professionals, there’s plenty of time before the need to sound any alarms.” – Jennifer McIlveen, managing editor of Tech.co
Simply put, if you’re worried about your job being replaced by AI, you probably have some time before you need to start updating your resume, particularly because the AI platforms on the market now are far from perfect.
What Is Keeping AI Job Replacement Low?
Considering AI platforms have become so popular and productivity over such a short period of time, it might be hard to understand exactly why job replacement isn’t higher. Don’t get us wrong, we’re happy to global economy isn’t crumbling due to this new technology, but what is keeping AI job replacement so low?
Well, according to our research, trust in AI isn’t very high right now, particularly when it comes to providing false information. In fact, 49% of businesses surveyed said that they were concerned about the risk of large language AI models generating false information.
Subsequently, most businesses don’t feel comfortable turning over their entire operation to an AI that makes mistakes, which means that there are still plenty of jobs and skills that won’t be replaced in the near future.
Which Job Skills Are Still Valued?
While some roles and tasks are eliminated by AI, there are still some valuable skills that recruiters, business owners, and managers are looking for when it comes to new employees, and they are some of the most human skills you can imagine.
“Those still worried about AI taking their job, or worse, preventing them from finding a new one, will likely be reassured by Tech.co’s findings on what hiring managers consider to be the most valuable skills in a new employee.” – Jennifer McIlveen, managing editor of Tech.co
Communication, problem solving, and time management, for instance, were at the top of the list, with 98% of respondents noting these skills as at least moderately important when it comes to hiring. People management (91%) and networking (90%) were also quite notable in regard to these kinds of valuable skills.
Perhaps more importantly, the value of AI skills in the workplace hasn’t taken off yet either. In fact, only 43% of respondents said that AI expertise was at least moderately important to the hiring decision, the lowest score across our research.
