An Inscrutable Future

The world has become enthralled by the newest wave of artificial intelligence. Novelties

like a chatbot that can write poems, a computer that can imitate art, and a search engine that can

talk to users, entrance users. While these are all certainly interesting, they more importantly also

give us a faint glimpse into the future. Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic technologies might

have uses today, but it is almost certain that in the future, they will be expanded to countless

fields, and will irrevocably alter the course of history. But will this future, which artificial

intelligence will create, be a paradise, or a dystopia?

I have always found the field of artificial intelligence to be fascinating. It is especially

intriguing how, with enough training and computing power, it seems to be possible for artificial

intelligence to recreate almost anything that a human can do, often even more effectively than a

human could. Famously, artificial intelligence reached the point a quarter of a century ago where

in chess, the strongest human player was no match for a computer. Of course, since then, AI has

improved exponentially. If artificial intelligence can replicate what humans do, it may be only a

matter of time before it can also replace people in the world of work.

Soon, advances in technology will allow artificial intelligence to assist in, and perhaps

even completely take over, many fields that today might seem impossible for artificial

intelligence to be a part of. This will almost assuredly cause countless people to lose their jobs.

The ultimate question is not whether or not artificial intelligence will affect people’s jobs, the

question is: what will be the result of this? Will jobs lost due to new technologies be replaced by

new jobs, or will millions of people be left without work? Will artificial intelligence reshape

society to help everyone prosper, or will it increase inequality and worsen the immensely

unequal distribution of wealth seen today? Ultimately, these questions can be summed up as one:

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how will advances in artificial intelligence shape the future of careers?

It seems very likely that artificial intelligence will be able to irrevocably impact

employment by taking over many people’s jobs. After all, there are many advantages artificial

intelligence has over humans. One large advantage is that computers can share data with each

other easily, which means that, “a computer can learn from the data of millions of operations,

thereby significantly improving the results [as compared to a human]” (Ertel 21). A computer

can analyze the vast amounts of data shared with it to make decisions, while a human can only

use what they have learned from their own life experiences, giving the computer a huge

advantage. This vast array of information available to it makes it possible for a computer to make

more informed decisions than even the most experienced human could. Additionally, there are

many weaknesses of humans that artificial intelligence does not share. For example, a robotic

worker would not, “get tired, drunk, sick, distracted, or bored; they [would not] doze off, talk on

the phone, or go on strike” (Kaplan 141). Employers will likely find these countless advantages

extremely appealing, as by using AI, they would have to deal with far fewer complications than

would be created by a human. If employees could have these reliable robotic workers, they

would easily choose them over humans. Finally, AI can process information and complete tasks

infinitely more quickly than a human can. One use of AI today, high-frequency trading

programs, exemplifies this fact. These programs make money in the stock market by noticing

tiny fluctuations in prices of just, “a fraction of a cent in less than a blink of an eye,” and using

these slight variations to sell stocks for slightly more than they bought them for to make a profit

(Kaplan 54). This task would be completely impossible for a human to do with any degree of

competency when compared to a computer, given how incredibly fast computers can react to any

tiny change. Unlike humans, computer programs can make these decisions in milliseconds. All

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of these abilities give AI many advantages over humans, so much so that it is hard to see how a

human could ever hope to compete with such a machine.

Still, these advantages do not mean that artificial intelligence will surpass or replace

humans outright. Currently, there are a number of limitations of AI, which ensure this. For AI to

completely replace people, this would require AI to not only be a specialist, like a computer that

can only play chess, but rather is generally intelligent, and most importantly, capable of problem

solving. At the moment:

Current AI technology tends to work best for activities where there are underlying

patterns, rules, definitive right answers, and semi-formal or formal structures that make

up the process. By contrast, AI tends to work poorly, or not at all, in areas that are

conceptual, abstract, value-laden, open-ended, policy- or judgment-oriented; [or that]

require common sense or intuition. (Surden 19)

While AI can be trained to be better than a human at one particular, concrete task, it is difficult

for one to be able to handle more complicated and nuanced situations. For this reason, AI’s

impact on careers might be the same as historical advancements in technology, in that it could

have specific applications where it can replace people, but it may not replace people at large.

Another major limitation of artificial intelligence is that it can not adapt to new, unexpected

situations: “Coping with completely new situations remains a major problem [for AI]. For

example, an office worker or secretary is often faced with unexpected tasks or problems and has

to come up with creative solutions. Even the most intelligent machine cannot handle such

situations” (Ertel 27-28). Though AI can be trained to complete a single task proficiently, it is

unable to deal with any obstacles or solve any problems that it was not trained to solve. So, for

the foreseeable future, jobs that include many unexpected problems that need to be solved will be

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out of reach for AI. Since many jobs include some amount of adapting to new situations, this

makes many careers inaccessible for a computer. Finally, even if a job can mostly be done by AI,

this does not necessarily mean that there will be no humans involved. Some jobs might be

primarily done by AI, but require human supervision to take over where AI has issues, or as a

fail-safe in case something goes wrong. This already takes place in some fields, for example,

airplane pilots are still necessary even though autopilot exists, because, “even though on average

a pilot only flies a plane for roughly 7 minutes during an entire flight, having a human sitting at

the control panel is as essential as before to intervene in extreme situations or sudden

disruptions” (Ernst et al. 11). Even if AI can replace most of a human’s roles in a job, that does

not mean it will make the human obsolete. In some careers, particularly careers where safety is

of the utmost importance, humans might still be necessary, even if only to oversee AI. After all,

AI can not do everything. Even if AI is able to do much of a human’s work, that person may still

be necessary.

There are many examples of fields where, instead of making people unnecessary, AI may

just make people’s roles different. One example of technology doing this would be the ATM

(automated teller machine), a widely used technology that replaced many of the responsibilities

of bank workers. One might assume that ATMs would cause many people employed by banks to

lose their jobs. However, after ATMs became widely used, “despite the labor-saving nature of the

ATM, employment in banking grew continuously as the cost of opening new outlets fell, helping

to attract a larger customer base while at the same time shifting tasks among bank employees

away from clerk services to sales and counseling” (Ernst et al. 12). While ATMs greatly changed

the way that bankers work, it did not cause fewer people to work in banking, in fact, it did the

opposite. Similarly, AI might remove some of people’s career responsibilities, but people may

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just find new ways to work in their fields. In many careers, AI is a very useful tool, but not one

that will replace people. In an interview conducted with John Lambert, who has a PhD in

artificial intelligence, he said;

I think that [in ways like] understanding medical imagery . . . AI will become more and

more effective in those areas in terms [of] augmenting the capabilities of people, but I

don't think [AI is] going to replace doctors. I think [it] might be able to help lawyers

write documents more quickly and more efficiently, but I don't think it's going to replace

lawyers, for example.

AI can be very useful in medical fields, for interpreting scans and helping doctors decipher data.

It can also be useful in law, helping lawyers write documents quickly. However, in both of these

roles, the human component remains very important. In law, AI can automate tasks with, “some

underlying structure or pattern that it can harness [but] lawyerly tasks that involve abstract

thinking, problem-solving, advocacy, client counseling, human emotional intelligence, policy

analysis, and big picture strategy are unlikely to be subject to automation given the limits of

today’s AI technology” (Surden 1332). Artificial intelligence is very adept at solving problems

with patterns, but not so much at many of the other, more complicated aspects of law. Therefore,

just like with doctors, AI will most likely be used as a tool to assist lawyers, not to replace them.

Instead of taking many people’s jobs, AI may end up being a useful tool that can help people

work more efficiently.

In addition to helping people work more efficiently, AI may expand people’s career

opportunities by both creating completely new fields and expanding fields that already exist

today. According to the McKinsey & Co. consulting firm, “technology, including AI and

automation, could add 20 million to 50 million jobs globally by 2030” (Hernandez). This is a

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huge number of jobs that would not exist without AI and robotics. This many jobs could make a

huge impact, giving people a variety of new career possibilities, some never seen before.

Another reason to not fear AI causing people to lose their jobs is that AI already has many roles

in people’s lives, but it did not replace humans in these roles. For example, whenever people

“search the Web, [or] get a movie recommendation from Netflix,” they are using AI (Gasken).

Controlling internet searches and Netflix's algorithms are completely new tasks done by AI,

tasks that would be essentially impossible for a human to do. Perhaps going forwards, many of

AI’s jobs will continue to be completely new, unique ones, not ones that are taken from people.

There is also a historic basis for the belief that AI is unlikely to make people unable to find jobs.

Historically, technological advancements such “as steam power or the interior ignition motor,”

have changed people’s careers, but still left people with plenty of jobs (Nabila et al. 48). AI

might not be different from any other new technology and, though it will change careers, it will

not necessarily cause mass unemployment or any of the sort. After all, technological

advancements have already replaced workers, but these workers have been able to adapt to new

careers. In my interview with John Lambert, he said, “AI is already impacting so many

industries, . . . [but] unemployment rates right now are very low [so] . . . I don’t think [AI] will

cause mass unemployment”. Despite how much technology has changed and advanced

throughout history, and despite many labor-saving inventions, people still have jobs. Historically,

whenever people have their jobs replaced by new technology, they have been able to adapt to

new fields, and this may be no different in the case of AI. According to assistant research

professor David Zeng, “artificial intelligence is ‘the new electricity’” and it will cause, “‘society

[to] change fundamentally in the coming years in terms of jobs, skills, and how people interact’”

(Matzen). Electricity certainly revolutionized work around the world, changing how people live

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and work forever, and AI may have the same effect. Both might have colossal consequences and

might reshape society, but just as electricity did, AI might greatly improve people’s quality of

life. Perhaps if AI and machines are able to cover the most menial and tedious work, humans will

be free to specialize in what they do best. AI would let people do their best work, not prevent

them from finding work.

While there are certainly many positive changes AI makes to employment, there are

certainly causes for concern. In an interview with tech-startup business consultant Michelle

Petigny, who regularly uses artificial intelligence in her work, she asserted that just like how

repetitive physical labor can be done by robots, in the future, “you might imagine some of the

repetitive paper tasks being done by a robot”. Robots being able to replace both physical and

mental tasks is a concern, as many common jobs could be replaced. Particularly, the work that

requires the least education, this being unskilled physical or mental labor, is at risk. This could

make it difficult for many to find employment, “but not, surprisingly, because of lack of jobs.

Rather, the skills required to do the available jobs are likely to evolve more quickly than workers

can adapt” (Kaplan 13). While there may be new jobs created by technology, this will be of little

use to people who do not have the skills required for these jobs. A large number of people might

be left without jobs, with careers changing too quickly for them to catch up and find new

employment. The skills needed for employment might change faster than job seekers can

develop those skills. Even if people are eventually able to adapt, the transition will likely be

painful. For a historical example of labor-replacing technology having such an effect, “the rapid

introduction of new technologies during the British Industrial Revolution ultimately led to rising

labor demand and wages, but this was only after a protracted period of stagnant wages,

expanding poverty, and harsh living conditions” (Acemoglu and Restrepo 209). Even if in the

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long run, people benefit from technology, just like in the industrial revolution, in the short term,

people may suffer as they struggle to adjust to their new reality. Finally, even if AI does not

cause unemployment, it might still negatively impact careers in other ways. One example is that,

“[the] capabilities of AI, which can be perceived as superior to human capabilities, can make

employees feel less competent and insecure in their jobs” (Presbitero and Teng-Calleja). Even if

AI does not actually pose a threat to people, people may still feel threatened. If people feel less

secure in their jobs, this could negatively affect their psyche, making them less productive

workers. Finally, AI may create an even greater disparity between the rich and the poor. Already,

thanks to technology, “middle-income jobs are disappearing to the benefit of job creation both at

the high and at the low end of the wage distribution” (Ernst et al. 8). If this continues, inequality

and the difference between the upper class and lower class may become even greater. Even if

people are generally not left jobless by AI, there could still be an elite class that benefits from AI,

and a lower class that just struggles to get by.

AI is almost certain to have a radical effect on careers, changing many people's

responsibilities in their careers and replacing many people’s jobs, but that is not necessarily an

issue. After all, this is no different from other new technologies. Ultimately, every new

technology causes change, the question is whether this change will be for the better or worse. AI

will replace the most menial and repetitive forms of labor. With AI taking over the most tedious

tasks, this may make it so that people will be free to work on uniquely human tasks, tasks that

require creativity, human connection, and adaptability. While AI may disrupt and overturn

modern society as we know it, it should ultimately change work for the better. Still though, there

is a concern that artificial intelligence might consolidate wealth into the hands of the rich, and

create greater inequality in the world. If people want to avoid this future, they must take action to

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prevent the most powerful people from establishing complete control over artificial intelligence.

Only if everyone can benefit from the increased efficiency of AI, will it improve life for

everyone.

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 Works Cited

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Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda, The University of Chicago Press,

Chicago, Illinois, 2019, pp. 197–236,

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Ernst, Ekkehardt, Merola, Rossana and Samaan, Daniel. "Economics of Artificial Intelligence:

Implications for the Future of Work" IZA Journal of Labor Policy, vol.9, no.1, 2019, pp.-.

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Create -- Or Expand: Artificial intelligence threatens to destroy a lot of jobs. But there's

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https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/2032327194?accountid=193803.

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Nabila, Santoso, et al. “Artificial Intelligence Robots And Revolutionizing Society In Terms Of

Technology, Innovation, Work And Power”. IAIC Transactions on Sustainable Digital

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Self-Management Perspective.” Personnel Review, 2022,

https://doi.org/10.1108/pr-02-2021-0103. Accessed 15 Mar. 2023.

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