AI may be faster and cheaper than physical alternatives to a particular task, but it may require a human touch. Photo: University of Faros.
The video didn't kill radio stars, and the e-books didn't kill bookstores. AI won't kill small businesses. But it changes the market, which will affect certain niche businesses in Canberra.
AI is revolutionizing medicine, helping people with disabilities, transforming insurance and finance, as well as threatening white-collar jobs (and unions aren't terrifying).
It is also accepted as a major end to the music industry as a way to make songs without dealing with the nasty nasty people. Where does that lead to?
But another quiet turmoil is underway, and there is one that changes the world of only traders and niche consultants. People who made a living in Canberra are learning to make the machines faster and cheaper.
CV Writer – Takes Canberra's speciality. The good stuff isn't just formatting your work history. They help you find confidence and translate your experiences past the bots into the hands of interview committees and human recruiters.
But now, AI can stir up a decent resume in seconds. I don't ask how you feel about career changes. When you say, “I don't work because I had kids,” it doesn't feel your uncertainty. But it will be free or close to it.
It's both good news and the problem.
There are also freelance copywriters, speechwriters and grant writing specialists. For paid people who help charities and nonprofits win funds, or who write heartfelt speeches for nervous executives or people who have never spoken publicly before.
ai can do all of that now…somehow. It can mimic tones and structures and even throw jokes.
But it cannot sit with people who have never written words and can't help them find their voices. It can provide a good wedding speech, but it doesn't know your dad's sense of humor. Certainly, I don't know that (hopefully) the family scandal that took place ten years ago should not be mentioned by chance.
These are more than just jobs. They are relationships. They are services based on empathy, subtlety, nuance, or candidness and conflict, and trust built on living experience.
And they are under threat. Not because they are outdated, but because they are undercut by tools “good enough” for those who can't afford better.
Another group is Canberra scribes who sit quietly in thousands of public sector interviews. Are they replaced by recordings and then recommended?
I'm not against it, I'm totally against it. But we still need to ask: When the market decides “good enough” is okay, who is left behind?
Again, progress often hurts for some, but it may be beneficial for others. This is also a story of opportunity.
History shows that predicting the fate of technology is often premature. It is worth remembering that the ubiquitous phone camera didn't kill professional photos. There may not be many photographers, but they still exist because they cannot match the quality.
I also remember when former Senator Nick Shelley declared in 2011 that bookstores would disappear within five years. He was wrong. Not only did independent bookstores survive, they were adapted, specialized and often flourished. They became a place of community hubs, visceral experiences and random discoveries in the world of algorithmic predictability.
The same goes for AI.
Many services are automated, while others are not automated, making them accurately more valuable.
People pay for authenticity, human connection, for expertise not being cut off from the internet. Because of spontaneity.
Excellent CV writers will also coach your interview skills. Copywriters understand local culture, politics and personality. Grant writers know how to navigate bureaucracy and develop relationships with funders. Certainists can learn and interpret body language.
And then new businesses emerge. There is an entire ecosystem waiting to be built.
Watch and listen to small business owners, especially quiet accomplishers. Don't make the same mistakes you made in the bookstore.
After all, the future of small and medium-sized businesses is not about machines. It's about people. And thankfully, people are still invaluable.
Isn't they?
An original article published by Peter Strong in the Canberra area.
