Rishi Sunak predicts that the UK will be “a science and technology superpower” by 2030, and the government is working on a “pro-innovation” national position on governing and regulating AI”.
This response is timely, because thanks to the late 2022 launch of OpenAI’s generative tool ChatGPT, we’re talking about artificial intelligence like never before.
The government agrees and says that its 2023 tracker found that 95% of Britons had heard of AI, compared with 89% in 2022. Additionally, 66% can now articulate what it is––at least in part.
Side-by-side with amusing AI-generated images of the Pope wearing an exaggerated white puffer coat, are more real worries, however. Will AI eliminate or change jobs? Do workers need to learn new skills––and how can they even get hired in a new AI-driven future?
To answer these questions, we asked a panel of tech experts for their considered opinions.
Will AI make some jobs obsolete?
Pavel Shynkarenko is the founder and CEO of international HR tech company Solar Staff, and has more than 20 years’ of experience in fintech and legal tech. He confirms that “AI will take jobs away from people,” but to keep in mind that “we don’t know which ones, and when”.
Shynkarenko says he believes “in a scenario where jobs will be lost to entry and mid-level professionals, including IT, who will not be able to quickly adapt and grow in the profession using AI”.
Cecily Motley, co-founder of HR AI platform Harriet says that, “AI won’t take your job, but someone using AI might.” This technology will transform the way we work for the better, Motley thinks.
“It has the power to give every employee a personal assistant by automating time-draining administrative tasks like scheduling meetings and searching for key documents and data.
“Day-to-day responsibilities will change as workers are freed up to focus on higher-value projects which rely on ‘human’ skills like creativity, relationship building, and resilience.”
Hywel Carver, CEO and Co-Founder of Skiller Whale, says fears about job losses are “understandable”, but there is no need to worry––just yet.
“Jobs that are easily automated have a higher potential to be lost, but a synergy between workers and the technology will be essential in using AI as a complement to your work, rather than replacing your work,” he asserts.
Can AI actually help us to do our jobs better?
More positively for workers, Khyati Sundaram, CEO of ethical hiring experts Applied, says that “the technology can help automate repetitive tasks and admin; freeing up workers to focus on more meaningful, high-value tasks, and improving our work-life balance.”
Prashant Mahajan, CEO and founder of product management platform Zeda.io, points out that “AI is already a critical differentiator between those who can now make data-driven decisions based on real-time data instead of relying on their intuition, and it is now also commonplace to use AI-powered predictive modeling to analyse past data to predict future customer demands and behaviour.”
What new roles could AI create?
The million-dollar question for tech workers is what jobs could emerge as a result of artificial intelligence, because for many, this could be crucial to their future career success.
Applied’s Khyati Sundaram says that “those that want to work in the field of AI itself could consider roles as AI trainers, operators and auditors. Companies will also increasingly be looking to hire AI consultants and compliance managers, to utilise the technology effectively, ethically, and in-line with evolving relevant legislation.”
Adam Liska, Glyphic.ai co-founder and CEO believes that the majority of jobs and sectors will be augmented by AI.
“While there will be new prompt engineer positions emerging at companies, I certainly believe that prompt engineering will become a table stakes skill set for most knowledge workers. Apart from that, there will be a new world of AI-powered coaching and content creation, which will have humans and AI collaborating to personalise and automate large parts of coaching and content creation.”
Skiller Whale’s Hywel Carver says that because “we need human oversight as AI continues to develop and be integrated across sectors, and this necessity opens up a whole new variation of roles and skill sets. With an increase over the last year of companies recruiting for roles such as prompt engineer, AI lead and head of artificial intelligence, these roles are emerging in real time.”
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What skills should I focus on developing?
The verdict is clear: soft and people skills will win the day. Farley Thomas, CEO of Manageable, says that “People skills are already in deficit, and they will help anyone stand out from the crowd. This means relationship skills, emotional intelligence and coaching skills.”
He adds that while “cognitive skills are important […], AI will perform many cognitive tasks better and faster. Does anyone actually do maths without a calculator anymore?”
“Scepticism, intuition for how AI works, and flexibility are all going to be hugely valuable,” says Hywel Carver.
“Scepticism because AI can’t be blindly trusted – the potential for mistakes is too great, and so the need for human checks and balances is large,” he adds.
“An intuition for how AI works is important too, so that workers understand the tasks that AI is good at, and what is best left to humans. And flexibility because many workers are going to need very different skills as their roles evolve.”
According to Harriet’s Cecily Motley, “The AI future is going to see increasing emphasis on human skills; relationship building, resilience, creativity, originality and the ability to respond to complexity”.
Do I need to think about optimsing my CV for AI?
Many companies already use AI-powered applicant tracking systems (ATS) to parse resumes and cover letters, helping them to narrow down suitable candidates.
“Job seekers have understood that and optimised their resumes with keywords and specific topics to boost their discoverability on the job market,” Glyphic.ai’s Liska says. “And yes, we can expect to see more of this.”
“For now, perfect candidates adapt their experience and skills for the precise company and try to be as personal as possible,” advises Pavel Shynkarenko of Solar Staff. “This human-centralised approach will work even now in the ChatGPT era.”
Khyati Sundaram of Applied points out that AI has the potential to perpetuate existing biases. “For this reason, ethical employers will always ensure that hiring decisions rest with humans who can be held accountable for following fair and objective processes,” she says.
“In short, this means that candidates who want to work for ethical and inclusive employers needn’t worry about optimising their resumes for AI. Employers should ensure that candidates get an equal chance to succeed––AI or no AI.”
This article is part of a partnership with Amply. For partnering opportunities, contact [email protected]m or [email protected].
