Artificial Intelligence & The Future of Jobs

As AI, Machine Learning, Robotics are the buzzwords doing the rounds in global industry, this discussion on AI's impact on the Future of Jobs cant have come at a better time.

There are several professionals who are concerned about possible loss of jobs, especially older ones, who are not digital natives unlike the Millenials, for instance. Are these fears real as Elon Musk seems to think or is Zuckerberg right that we have nothing to fear? The truth in this case may lie on both sides. There are certainly roles and functions which may get automated out of existence in the near future - one which are repetitive, logical and therefore feasible for automation and there are others which fall into the realm of the right brain - intuition based decision making for instance - which may be less easy to automate in the near term.

Will jobs change in nature of roles performed? That I dare say, is an unequivocal yes. So whatever you do today, there will be changes to the functions you perform. That's not necessarily a bad thing either. It may utilize the human brain and abilities far more for higher order tasks than the mundane, repetitive ones.

Look at AI as your own personal assistant. So whether you are a credit officer deciding on the loan worthiness of an applicant or a stock trader deciding which stocks to suggest to your client, you may have some help coming your way. Even in the 'people-centric' search industry where I come from, some of the search and job compatibility functions may get automated so your job becomes more about engaging with candidates and using your fine tuned evaluation skills to pick the best one or few from competing candidates.

Humans are the greatest adapters on earth and hence they are still around while other species are extinct, and I believe they will continue to thrive even in an AI world, albeit with different skills than today.