Workers who are able to explain in simple terms how artificial intelligence tools work are more likely to succeed in the following areas: job marketsays an economist focused on the economic impact of AI.
Robert Seamans, a professor of management and organizations at New York University's Stern School of Business, believes such roles are exactly the ones created by AI. In fact, he predicts that AI will become part of virtually every worker's future, just as the internet became an essential part of daily life decades ago.
Meanwhile, as generative AI tools like ChatGPT reshape the labor market, the workers who stand to benefit most will be those who understand how to use technology to maximize their performance and how to test and train AI, Seamans said.
“AI will change most of our jobs, but it will impact each profession differently,” he said. “You think about computers and the Internet and how that has changed jobs and the way we work.”
Seamans predicted that there will be a need for people who understand AI and, just as importantly, can explain in simple terms how it works. For example, he expects companies to hire what he calls “AI explainers” or “AI translators” to help managers better understand their organizations' AI tools.
“The job is to help the layperson understand what's going on inside,” he said.
“They don't need to be the best computer scientists at creating and running language models at scale, but they do need to understand language models well enough to demonstrate that they are competent in the field and can talk about it to a broader audience,” Seamans added.
Another common role Seamans expects to emerge in the age of artificial intelligence is the “AI auditor.” AI checks for bias or factual inaccuracies.
“To run tests on an AI system, you need to know enough about it, and you need to know what benchmarks to use to determine if it's biased,” he said. “They could potentially have a legal background as well.”
Seamans also expects employers to hire more instructors who can train workers on how to use a company's AI apps. Do you have any advice for workers, students, and new employees?
“My recommendation is to experiment with AI without thinking there's a specific way you can interact with it. [AI]“Interact in different ways because you’ll get different answers,” he said.
