Approximately one-fifth of the U.S. labor force holds a job that is highly exposed to AI, according to the Pew Research Center. Yet, it is difficult to assess if AI will boost or substitute for these jobs. The research conducted by Pew demonstrated that people with the greatest exposure to AI, such as ChatGPT, are typically female, white or Asian, and have higher wages, along with college degrees. An expert noted that in the past, some individuals were negatively affected when their occupation was substituted by automation.
The impact of technological progress on the job market is nothing new. Robots and automation, for instance, are a common feature on factory floors and assembly lines, which has led to varying consequences in the workplace, including displacement, transformation, improvement and even the creation of new jobs, knowledgeable sources report.Artificial intelligence is a modern and rapidly growing type of technology that is expected to do the same, but its effect may differ from that of past advances, according to experts. “AI stands out from the technologies which have been introduced over the past century,” said Rakesh Kochhar, a specialist on labor trends and a senior researcher at the non-partisan think tank Pew Research Center. “It is reaching out from the factory floors and into the offices, where white-collar, higher-paid roles tend to be."When asked about the speed of this shift, Kochhar replied, “Will it be a slow-moving force or a tsunami? That is unknown.”
AI is designed to replicate human cognition, which allows machines and computers to work autonomously, as Kochhar stated. The widespread use of OpenAI's ChatGPT AI chatbot initiated a nationwide discussion shortly after its release in November 2022, with many people using the program to write essays, tunes, and computer programming. This is distinct from robots, which are mainly employed for substantial activities, such as carrying or moving objects. Kochhar's Pew study found that 19% of U.S. workers are in occupations with a strong exposure to AI, termed "exposure" as its potential consequences, either beneficial or detrimental, are still unclear. Occupations with the highest AI exposure incorporate budget analysts, data entry operators, tax preparers, technical authors, and web developers, as they often require analytical capabilities and AI may subsequently replace or help with their "critical" job tasks. Workers with the highest AI exposure are likely to be females, white or Asian, high-income earners, and college graduates, the research revealed. Stahle, an economist from Indeed, affirmed that there could be some job displacement, though AI could also create brand-new roles that have yet to be conceived. He concluded that the verdict is still out.
In contrast, 23% of American employees have not come into contact with AI according to the Pew report. Occupations like barbers, firemens, dishwashers, pipeline fillers, nannies, and other child care workers often partake in manual labor which AI, in its current state, could not easily imitate. The remaining 58% of jobs possess different amounts of AI contact. Data from the Occupational Information Network of the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that in 2022, on average, those with the most exposure to AI earned $33 per hour, as opposed to those with the least AI exposure at $20 per hour.
Since the Industrial Revolution, worries about technology destroying jobs have been commonplace, noted Harry Holzer, a professor at Georgetown University and former chief economist at the Labor Department. While Holzer, the author of "Shifting Paradigms" (2022), disagrees that these fears are always accurate, he does acknowledge that automation may create as many jobs as it does away with. Indeed, technology can be beneficial to workers by improving their productivity, which in turn decreases costs for products and services, making consumers wealthier and so encouraging increased spending as a result. According to Gene Kindberg-Hanlon, an economist from the World Bank, in advanced economies such as the United States, there is usually a temporarily adverse impact on total job numbers following the implementation of new technology, but after a four-year period the situation moves "modestly positive".
Holzer stated that some workers can "lose out," with the group largely consisting of those directly replaced by machines and required to compete. Since the 1980s, digital automation has led to labor market inequality, as numerous production and clerical workers saw their work become unavailable or their wages decrease. Owners usually benefit more from the profit and reduced need for labor. In the future, Holzer mentioned that the "new automation," including AI, has the possibility to generate "much more worker displacement and inequality than older generations of automation," potentially causing millions of jobs to be lost for vehicle drivers, retail workers, lawyers, accountants, finance specialists and health-care workers, among others. This will also bring about fresh challenges and needs like retraining or reskilling, possibly leading to further effects such as child care demands for deprived workers.
Indeed data reveals that there has been a "significant rise" in employers searching for candidates with AI-associated aptitudes, Stahle commented. For example, at July 2018 there were 20 job postings per million of Indeed that asked for an AI skill; that number had reached 328 by July 2023. Although this is still a small proportion of the total number of Indeed job announcements, it is a significant increase compared to "essentially nothing" a few years before that, said Stahle. Most of the growth has happened during the last 12 months, probably linked to the recent surge of ChatGPT, he remarked.The growth has largely happened in two directions: People creating AI technology and those in more imaginative or advertising roles who use the AI tools, Stahle said. Jobs in the latter group are going to be particularly fascinating to study, to observe how artificial intelligence can change roles as various as marketing, sales, customer service, law and real estate, he added.
Comments