Is AI a Job Killer or a Job Creator?

Robots are not going to replace humans, they are going to make their jobs much more humane. Difficult, demeaning, demanding, dangerous, dull- these are the jobs robots will be taking.

– Sabine Hauert, Co-founder of Robohub.org

A variety of thoughts probably come to your mind when someone asks you a question- whether AI will be a job killer or a job creator?

There are various contrasting & interesting opinions that surround you ranging from AI will destroy jobs to AI will enable you to work better. 

Well, if we look at the history of any technology, it has always brought a sense of job insecurity and created as well as destroyed the jobs.

The same is the matter with AI- It is both a job killer and a job creator.

AI as a Job Killer

The introduction of AI has already created certain disruptions in various industries. And it is going to be increased in the near future with the advancement in AI technologies. 

First, the lower level of jobs or repetitive human tasks will be replaced by AI, and gradually, it will progress to the higher level of jobs.

Several pieces of research reveal that the main reason for the replacement of humans by AI is due to the speed and accuracy. 

According to Oxford Economics, by 2030, up to 20 million manufacturing jobs worldwide will be lost to robots. 

Examples of AI as a Job Killer

1. Autonomous Cars/Driving

In comparison to humans, self-driving cars are safer and more accurate, thus livelihood of the cab drivers will be at threat.

2. Speech Recognition and Translation

With time, the human roles of speech recognition and translation will be taken over by machines.

Language learning will become obsolete as machines will be able to easily translate the speech that can be simply understood.

AI as a Job Creator

The World Economic Forum says automation will displace 75 million jobs but generate 133 million new ones worldwide by 2022.

As against a job killer, it is also a job creator. There are various ways in which Artificial Intelligence will open avenues for new jobs. It will offer attractive opportunities for employment. 

There will also be a boost in productivity as people will learn to work smarter and in less time, thus reducing the cost of organizations. 

With enough investments, innovations and economic growth, there will be an increase in jobs, offsetting the impact of automation.

New categories of jobs would be created by Artificial Intelligence. For instance, if we talk about 40-50 years ago, no one thought of jobs for Digital marketer or Artificial Intelligence Engineer. 

In the same way, if we talk about the jobs in the coming future, AI is going to create entirely new categories of jobs that are not even existing at present.

According to Gartner, AI-related jobs will reach two million net-new jobs in 2025.

Examples of AI as a Job Creator

1. AI in Data Science

In the field of Data Science, the jobs will be created by AI on the technical engineering front.

2. New markets for AI or any other technology

 As any new technology creates other new technologies or markets, the same is going to happen with AI. 

Artificial intelligence is going to create massive new industries in the near future as it offers tremendous opportunities for automation and digital transformation.

Seeing the above facts & figures, it can be said that AI is both a job killer and a job creator. But one cannot make an accurate comparison between both of them. 

There will be thousands of jobs created vs millions of jobs lost. So on a net basis, it will be a huge job loss.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that the world’s economies are developing at a faster rate with the help of AI technologies. Also it has benefited a lot in our personal lives also. 

In the context of jobs, it is not clear what future AI will bring with its capacities. The reality will eventually surface and we will get to know what new avenues of jobs will open and what old would be lost. 

Thus, instead of panicking yourself & worrying about the future, it’s better to upskill yourself with time & technology.