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Tag: AI Replacing Jobs

  • AI Will Not Replace Humans From Workforce in Asia: Debarati Guha

    Since artificial intelligence was first presented to the public, it has quickly become the topic of conversation in the world. The question of whether it will be able to take over jobs previously performed by humans is the primary subject of these discussions. Because of the widespread use of this technology by businesses all over the world, there is now a significant number of people who are without jobs.

    “Generative AI and the Future of Work in America” by McKinsey Global Institute is a new report that provides insight into the potential effects of AI on the US work market. Artificial intelligence (AI) and changing consumer behaviors will force people to seek out new job opportunities in a wide range of areas, according to the report. The study found that by 2030, AI might be responsible for 30% of US labor hours, which would mean economic automation would be happening much faster.

    The Director, Programs for Asia at Deutsche Welle (DW), Debarati Guha, is of the firm belief that artificial intelligence will not displace people anytime soon, and this is especially true in the Asian region. In an exclusive interview with StartupTalky, she discussed not only her extensive research on AI and its inner workings but also other areas of her career and the ways in which young, aspiring journalists can stay motivated to reach their objectives.

    Growing up in a bilingual and multicultural household piqued Debarati’s interest in religion, politics, and culture at a young age. She was born and raised in West Bengal and experienced the trauma of division that followed Bangladesh’s independence war in 1971.

    She began her career as a journalist in 2003 in India and has since covered numerous political events in South Asia and around the world. Some of the notable South Asian figures she has interviewed include Shashi Tharoor (Indian writer and diplomat), Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and eminent economist Prof. Amartya Sen. Since 2005, Debarati has been a resident of Germany.

    She received her MA and MPhil degrees in politics at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University. The working title of her dissertation was “Representation of Women in Postcolonial Literature: Exploring the Subaltern Studies Perspective.”

    When Debarati first started working as a journalist in 2003, she was an assistant to the Asia reporter at the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in New Delhi. As soon as she completed her training in online, radio, and television journalism in 2007, she joined DW as a senior editor and moderator at the Bengali department. After serving as the coordinating editor for the Bengali, Hindi, and Urdu sections from 2009 to 2012, she was appointed head of DW’s Bengali Service in 2013. In 2015, DW entrusted Debarati with its South and Southeast Asian services.

    Is Digitization Going to Devour Magazine and Newspaper Culture?
    Organizations Need Long-Term Success and Sustainability
    There Are No Shortcuts To Success

    Is Digitization Going to Devour Magazine and Newspaper Culture?

    There is a strong debate that the future lies in digitization as print media is fading away these days. This also means that it is going to be the end of the era for these print journals that have dominated the media market over decades. With many strong players in the print domain shutting their businesses and shifting to online modules, there is a big sword hanging on the remaining one.

    Commenting on these developments, Debarati stated, “To some extent, it will, but if we look at the Asian market, we can see that this shift is not going to bring about any significant changes in a short amount of time. Due to the fact that I am an Indian, and because it is true that we are a majority community, I am able to confidently assert that the culture of magazines and newspapers is not going to disappear any time soon. You are currently in India, and you may have noticed that despite the country’s huge modernization efforts, there are still areas that are deprived of fundamental necessities like electricity, clean water, and infrastructure, among other things. I mean, even now, people who live in this nation would like to have a newspaper as soon as they wake up in the morning. It is not until they have finished reading a certain magazine or newspaper that they feel as though their day has been finished. In conclusion, I do not believe that this culture will be unsuccessful in Asia. I mean, sure, AI and all that tech is great, but you gotta look at the big picture to realize that if it gets deployed in some workplace operations, humans can get other jobs. For example, if a journalist’s job gets taken over by AI, he can still write investigative stories or feature articles.”

    The Number of Jobs Created and Eliminated Due to Artificial Intelligence Worldwide in 2022
    The Number of Jobs Created and Eliminated Due to Artificial Intelligence Worldwide in 2022

    Organizations Need Long-Term Success and Sustainability

    Making decisions that are beneficial to the company while also having a positive influence on society and the environment is what we mean when we talk about sustainability in business. An all-encompassing strategy in which businesses conduct their operations in a manner that ensures the long-term ecological balance and social well-being of the community. Historically, sustainability was frequently considered an extraneous component, something that companies may choose to concentrate on in order to improve their public image. With that being said, this viewpoint has undergone a significant transformation.

    In today’s world, including sustainability as an integral part of strategy planning is essential for any forward-thinking company. According to the findings of a recent study, sustainable business practices have the potential to result in a sixteen percent improvement in staff productivity and a nineteen percent rise in organizational efficiency.

    Shedding her thoughts on the topic, Guha opined, “Accessibility is the first and most significant factor to consider in this regard. Only in the event that I be easily accessible will I be able to successfully settle a variety of problems. Given that DW has a presence in every region of the world, it is imperative that we implement strategies that are most appropriate for the organization. Due to the fact that regional media houses have access to a greater depth of particular news and information than we do, we are not in competition with them. Because of this, we are attempting to connect these developments in the Asian domain by giving it a German-Asian angle. Taking the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine as an example, everyone was discussing the various aspects of the conflict and how it would impact the economies of that region. However, when we take a more holistic approach, we must also take into consideration the fact that a significant amount of edible oil that originates from Russia is utilized by countries such as Pakistan, India, and other Asian nations, which means that these nations are also going to be negatively affected.”

    There Are No Shortcuts To Success

    In her remarkable career span, Guha had the privilege of conducting interviews with notable individuals such as Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, Shashi Tharoor of India, and Professor Amartya Sen, who is both a writer and a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics. This rich experience of interacting with various different thinkers and visionaries has been instrumental in assisting her in establishing a strong career path. And as she progresses further in her job, she continues to put her acquired knowledge to use.

    Emphasizing that there are shortcuts to success she stated, “My message to the young people who are just starting out in the journalism field is that there are no shortcuts to success. People will try to cast you in a negative light by saying things like “AI will take over,” “this trade will die soon,” and “this is not the good career option,” but in the end, it’s up to you to determine which side you want to take. Thus, you must work hard and stay alert. A person must also maintain an openness to learning over the course of their profession. This is because the instant a person believes that they have mastered all of the crafts, that is the day that their career will come to an end.”

    The Impact of AI and ML on Jobs
    AI is expected to have a mixed effect on the workforce. There will be some employment losses, but there will also be some job gains. To prepare employees for the AI-driven economy, it is critical to spend on their education and training.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Are AI and ML Potent Enough to Take Human Jobs?

    The question of whether AI and ML are powerful enough to displace humans from the workforce is hotly contested. Some in society worry that this shift will eventually put people out of work, while others see it as a way to help people out and make their careers better. One recent study that sheds insight on the possible effects of AI on the US employment market is “Generative AI and the Future of Work in America” done by McKinsey Global Institute. The research claims that people will have to seek out new career prospects across a variety of sectors as a consequence of artificial intelligence and shifting consumer behaviors. According to the research, artificial intelligence (AI) might account for 30 percent of US labor hours by 2030, significantly speeding up economic automation.

    To increase productivity, the paper claims that AI will eventually replace humans in all occupations that necessitate automation, including data collecting and repetitive operations. The office support, customer service, and food service industries stand to be the most affected by the AI transformation. By 2030, the research predicts that 12 million more people may need to change careers in the United States alone.

    In addition to a potential loss of 830,000 employment for retail salespeople, 710,000 for administrative assistants, and 630,000 for cashiers, the report predicts that demand for clerks might fall by 1.6 million jobs. Automated systems can efficiently handle the high share of repetitive tasks, data gathering, and rudimentary data processing that these positions involve, according to the paper.

    Altering the Character of Employment
    A World Driven by AI that Empowers All
    Upcoming Employment Opportunities Brought Forth by AI

    Altering the Character of Employment

    Contradicting the above information, the International Monetary Fund’s report states that a significant portion of the world’s workforce is involved with AI. While IT and automation have mostly affected low-skilled occupations in the past, AI stands out due to its capacity to affect high-skilled occupations as well. Therefore, compared to emerging markets and developing countries, advanced economies have more hazards from AI and more potential to gain from it.

    Artificial intelligence has the potential to affect 60% of jobs in developed economies. The potential for artificial intelligence to increase productivity in almost half of the exposed jobs is substantial. The other side of the coin is that AI apps might conduct crucial human-only jobs, which would diminish the demand for labor, which in turn could cause wages to fall and hiring to slow down. Some of these positions might go away entirely in the worst-case scenario.

    Nevertheless, many specialists believe that the recent surge in artificial intelligence occurred following the global pandemic. As a result of people realizing they could get their work done without physically visiting an office, the new work-from-home culture emerged and a plethora of advancements occurred in the artificial intelligence field.

    The Number of Jobs Created and Eliminated Due to Artificial Intelligence Worldwide in 2022
    The Number of Jobs Created and Eliminated Due to Artificial Intelligence Worldwide in 2022

    A World Driven by AI that Empowers All

    The urgency for lawmakers to take action is heightened by the rapid integration of AI into enterprises globally.

    Digital infrastructure, human capital and labor-market strategies, innovation and economic integration, regulation and ethics, and the AI Preparedness Index were developed by the International Monetary Fund to assist nations in formulating appropriate policies.

    For instance, factors like the percentage of the population covered by social safety nets, the number of years of schooling, and job-market mobility are assessed within the human capital and labor-market policy component. How well a country’s legal system accommodates digital business models and whether there is robust governance to ensure effective enforcement are evaluated in the regulation and ethics component.

    A total of 125 nations were evaluated by the International Monetary Fund personnel using the index. The results show that low-income countries are less prepared to adopt AI than wealthier economies, including advanced and even emerging market economies. However, there is a lot of variety across countries. Based on their exceptional performance in all measured categories, Singapore, the United States, and Denmark achieved the top ratings on the index.

    Upcoming Employment Opportunities Brought Forth by AI

    Artificial intelligence is not going to supplant humans in employment any time soon. Automating routine, predictable, and rule-based tasks is where AI shines. But jobs requiring imagination, compassion, and social skills are still better suited to people.

    However, artificial intelligence will most certainly change the way people work. Some occupations, including those in manufacturing and customer service, are already being supplanted by AI-driven automation. An increasing number of employment will probably be automated as AI technology advances.

    Unemployment rates could rise as a result, particularly for people lacking expertise in the fields where AI is most developed. Keep in mind, though, that AI also generates employment opportunities. Workers with expertise in artificial intelligence system development and maintenance, for instance, are in high demand.

    In general, AI is expected to have a mixed effect on the workforce. There will be some employment losses, but there will also be some job gains. To prepare employees for the AI-driven economy, it is critical to spend on their education and training. To thrive in the AI-driven economy, workers must have the necessary skills. Skills like creativity, problem-solving, and teamwork are part of this, as are STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects.

    To help those who lose their employment because of AI, governments should create new social safety nets. Assistance with finding work, retraining, and unemployment compensation are all examples of what may fall under this category.

    What Jobs Will Generative AI Replace?
    As AI and deep learning mature over time, business productivity will correspondingly improve, resulting in more labor demand and new job opportunities.
    StartupTalkyAbira Dutta

  • What Jobs Will Generative AI Replace?

    It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that outlives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. That is what Charles Darwin, the nineteenth-century naturalist had said.

    It essentially means that if you are capable of adapting yourself to changing circumstances around you, upskilling yourself, and beating your competitors to the punch, you will most probably survive the generative AI that most people see as replacing their jobs.

    What is Generative AI?
    Why should it have your attention?
    What are the chances that Generative AI will replace you at work?
    What kind of jobs Generative AI will replace?
    The silver lining for Content Writers

    What is Generative AI?

    Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a type of machine learning that uses algorithms to create new data, such as text, images, or audio, by learning patterns from existing data (or data sets). It’s an AI tool capable of using input data to self-learn and produce better text, images, audio, etc. Well, I wouldn’t say better, but it is pretty good, and is still in development, still learning. Companies like Google Inc., OpenAI, Midjourney Inc., Microsoft Inc., etc. are heavily investing in Artificial intelligence, and it remains to be seen who makes it more interesting, or say, intelligent.

    Why should it have your attention?

    There are plenty of reasons for you to be interested in generative AI, the most prominent one being its creative potential. It can create new content based on its input or practicing data set. It is evolving every day, and its ability to come up with more creative content, be it texts, images, or audio, will only get better with time. But that is not all.

    It has the potential to analyze its responses. It can self-learn. Various generative AI models use multiple techniques— neural networks, deep learning, and reinforcement learning to learn the patterns and relationships in the data. This will open new dimensions in predictive analytics and how businesses can carry out their day-to-day operations.

    ChatGPT in Numbers: 20 Impressive Statistics and Insights
    Just 5 days after it was launched, ChatGPT managed to cross 1M users— a record of its own.
    StartupTalkyAbira Dutta

    What are the chances that Generative AI will replace you at work?

    When it comes to technology, there are plenty of reports that suggest that technology has, since 1981, displaced workers faster than it has created jobs. Of course, there is significant uncertainty around the future of generative AI as it is still developing. But its ability to produce content that is literally indistinguishable from original/human-made content is concerning for many, and it should be. But on the same note, it is also true that workforce automation and the resulting job losses will be compensated by creating new jobs.

    A report by investment bank Goldman Sachs says that Artificial Intelligence could replace around 300m full-time jobs. It further states that if generative AI delivers its capabilities as promised, the labor market will face substantial disruption.

    So, the chances of generative AI replacing jobs are pretty high, but not all jobs— it cannot cook, for now, so we can rule that out.

    What kind of jobs Generative AI will replace?

    The future of AI’s role in the job market can broadly be put into two categories considering the impact of generative AI in the near- future. Firstly, AI will complement the employees’ work and then will replace the employees. The promised generative AI capabilities are truly charming— a charm that is tempting to companies. Companies always look for ways to reduce labor costs and enhance productivity, and generative AI will provide them with such opportunities.

    The fourth industrial revolution– industry 4.0– is about the internet and AI. Combining the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, simulation, additive manufacturing, predictive analytics, Machine Learning (ML), and Big Data will set the course of Industry 4.0. It is also true that not all businesses are using AI as of now, and most works are only partially exposed to artificial intelligence and automation. With AI adoption, companies will get an opportunity to apply some of their freed-up capacity toward highly productive activities and enhance output.

    So, it is more likely that replaced workers will be re-employed with improved, higher levels of productivity at hand, as well as new emerging job opportunities. The automation-led growth will also create a demand for labor.

    The Goldman Sachs report also highlights two of the most influential Generative AI abilities that will have macroeconomic effects, one being its ability to produce new content that is indistinguishable from the original human-created output and the second being its ability to break down the barriers between machines and humans. Both of these will have a substantial effect on employees and employers around the world.

    People who will be most affected by generative AI are the ones whose work involves web scraping to gather relevant data, preparing a clean data set, making sense of data, data processing, data analyzing, making people understand that information, keeping records or documentation, etc. Additionally, generative AI will positively affect the job market in the field of Content writing and editing, Journalism, Law, graphics designing and music, customer services, data entry, administration, bookkeeping, taxing, insurance and loan approval, etc. Chat GPT and Bard will enable even intermediate-skilled people to write articles and essays unless there is significant demand for such work, journalists and content writers will face severe competition.

    Will ChatGPT Take Your Job?

    The silver lining for Content Writers

    Recently I came across a few articles published by CNET— a tech news site— that used AI to write finance articles like ‘What is compound interest’, ‘Does a home equity loan affect private mortgage insurance?’, and many more. It used SEO-friendly keywords, and Google allowed advertisements on these pages. Futurism highlighted this fact— CNET had been quietly publishing AI-generated articles since November last year without any formal announcement. CNET acknowledged this fact and said that it was not a big deal—  the readers couldn’t understand if the article was written by AI or a human. But the main problem is AI misrepresenting facts. Many articles contained false information, and CNET had to revise them.

    The authorship of the articles isn’t instantly clear when you read the articles, but you will find something like this written in the dropdown description under staff:

    “This article was generated using automated technology and thoroughly edited and fact-checked by an editor on our editorial staff.”

    But CNET is not the first one to do this. Associated Press also started using AI in 2015. America’s oldest, 24h news agency produced 10 times more articles (3000 articles in a quarter) than it used to by using the automation technology at Automated Insights, a firm known for AI and “robot journalism”.

    The silver lining, however, is that AI is still evolving and is not perfect yet. It still makes mistakes on many fundamental topics— finance, polity, and politics. Many people have already pointed out the inability of ChatGPT to write unbiased content when it comes to the Democrats and the Republicans, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden, and even religious figures.

    So, as long as you are a creative, rational, objective content writer or journalist, your job is safe, and you will stand out. Undoubtedly, generative AI will replace some folks at work, but it will also provide a massive opportunity for you to reinvent how you work and hopefully complement your work with added creativity and accuracy. As AI and deep learning mature over time, business productivity will correspondingly improve, resulting in more labor demand and new job opportunities.

    FAQs

    What is Generative AI?

    Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a type of machine learning that uses algorithms to create new data, such as text, images, or audio, by learning patterns from existing data (or data sets).

    In which fields may Generative AI affect jobs?

    Generative AI will positively affect the job market in the field of Content writing and editing, Journalism, Law, graphics designing and music, customer services, data entry, administration, bookkeeping, taxing, insurance and loan approval, etc.