What is the impact of artificial intelligence on different workplaces? What should we prepare for in the coming years?
First, it is worth understanding what exactly artificial intelligence means and when can its creation be traced back to? Simply put, AI would mean that a machine thinks like a human. If you ask the machine a question, it will answer in a human way, or if you give it a problem, it can solve it without pre-programmed algorithms. This is perhaps the biggest misunderstanding about artificial intelligence. If a programmer pre-writes a software code and runs it, which, for example, asks for 3 input parameters and performs a calculation, and then outputs the output, that is not considered artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence produces immediate reactions, immediate answers, as if a person were doing it, so it is not the same as the previous concept of software development, according to which we run a pre-programmed code and use it to solve the calculation. Of course, artificial intelligence software also needs to be programmed, but its operation differs from that of traditional software.
The first such idea comes from Alan Turing in the 1940s (Turing Test). Marvin Minsky conducted further experiments with AI, but its practical application and commercialization was yet to come. In the 1990s, AI reached a more advanced level and in 1997, a program called Deep Blue was already able to beat Kasparov in chess. Today, 27 years later, what do we see? The customer service of companies AI-controlled and virtual machine assistants answer via chat or even on the phone, cars are capable of self-driving with AI technology without a human driver, translation software is not always completely accurate, but it is able to translate a text into another language very roughly. In addition, many other examples can be listed that work using AI (Artificial Intelligence). As we can see, the process and development has accelerated exponentially since the 1940s and has become a part of our lives.
What can be expected in the future, how can we adapt to it? How many jobs will we lose and how much will we gain?
In my opinion, development cannot be avoided, you have to keep up with it. Technological progress, which is continuous, means that once we finish our studies in a school, we cannot sit back and be satisfied, but it has brought with it lifelong learning. We must constantly train ourselves to keep up and remain competitive in the labor market. Today, it is not at all surprising that people in their 50s or even 60s are learning a new profession or taking part in university education.
I’ve heard before that today it’s not worth being a subway conductor or a worker working next to factory machine lines, but even as a waiter we can quickly lose our job, or cashiers are also downsizing because a self-service system was introduced, and even in surgical operations, it’s AI operate with the help of controlled robots, it is practically possible that intellectual workers may soon lose their jobs due to AI.
So how do we know what is worth studying, or what job might be in jeopardy? In my opinion, the processes must be monitored and as soon as it becomes apparent that a job can be replaced by a modern technology, we must act immediately and it is worth learning something new. AI takes away jobs, but also brings new ones. AI is also software, they must be written, maintained, and operated. New developer jobs, software maintainer and operator jobs, which are AI specific, are discussed here. Not only the software industry can bring new jobs. Electrical engineers, teachers, trainers, AI content creators, and all new jobs related to AI can be created. The process itself is not so fast that many people lose their jobs at once, it is a longer process and we have time to prepare.
Of course, there must be a willingness and motivation to accept all of this and adapt to the new processes. Good luck with that!
Zsolt Pelyhe