Boston – These days, we’re seeing robots in warehouses, restaurants, and grocery stores. Artificial intelligence makes computers do jobs that humans normally do.
Along with them, many people worry about the future of our workforce.
“The fear is not justified,” says Dr. Joseph Sheffy, professor of engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of The Magic Conveyor Belt, a book that explores AI and the future of work. “Uncertainty makes people uneasy,” he said.
This makes sense if the robot dog learns a new job and uses AI to answer questions.
So what is the future? “It’s hard to predict,” says Dr. Sheffy. “Then let’s go back to history.”
Dr. Sheffi said new technologies will always cause more anxiety in the workplace, but will always create more jobs.
In the early 1900s, Ford created the first mobile assembly line. Although fewer workers were needed, Dr Sheffy said, “Cars got cheaper, people started driving, we had highways, hotels, motels, restaurants. The whole hospitality industry developed. There were millions of jobs!”
He cites ATMs as another example. Before ATMs, there were 300,000 bank tellers. The job was dying out, but fifty years later the number of tellers he had doubled.
“Because branch banks have become much cheaper and cheaper to operate,” explained Dr Sheffy. “So if you walk along Newbury Street, every other storefront is a bank. Now that it’s easy to open, there are more tellers.”
But not everyone agrees with that optimistic outlook. One study predicts that there will be 14 million fewer jobs in five years. 83 million roles will disappear and only 69 million roles will emerge.
“Employment will change and obviously some jobs will disappear. I don’t want to take that lightly. Some jobs will disappear,” Dr Sheffy said. “There are no more elevator operators. So some jobs will be lost, but these are very few. Most of the impact of technology is helping people.”
Chat GPT Perhaps the most talked about example of AI. You can ask the AI to write anything. Presentations, emails, school assignments, songs, jokes.
I was asked to write a “witty” joke between two news anchors discussing AI. Here’s the exact conversation given to me about both anchors:
News Anchor 1: “David, it looks like AI is making waves again in tech. What do you think about this?”
News Anchor 2: “Well David, as an AI myself, I’m excited to see my fellow robots take over the world. It’s about time we get the recognition we deserve.”
News Anchor 1: “Oh, I didn’t realize I was sitting next to a robot. I don’t want to be replaced by a robot anytime soon.”
News Anchor 2: “Oh, don’t worry David. No robot can replace your wit and charm on camera.”
Popular real estate site Redfin uses ChatGPT to help home seekers verbalize what they want. Redfin says this is a tool that helps, not harms.
But some impressive Hollywood writers see AI as a threat to jobs. The Writers Guild is calling on studios and networks to stop using AI to write screenplays.
“I don’t think a computer, a machine, can elicit emotion,” said Marty Cook, a professor of screenwriting at Emerson University. “Emotion is a big part of storytelling.”
Cook was a Hollywood producer and screenwriter for many years.
“Can an AI come up with an idea for a show and write some really witty jokes and character specific dialogue? All that? I think no, I don’t think it will take a million years.” said Cook.
MIT’s Dr. Sheffy says that if you’re doing a job you think robots and computers can do, you need to learn new skills and jump into new advancements. In his words, “upgrade yourself” and don’t panic.
“What I’m saying is cool,” says Dr. Sheffy. “Keep calm and see the big picture.”
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