As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more sophisticated, the threat that this automation will displace a wide number of jobs is very real. This obviously creates a distressing picture for many of us.
However, evidence shows that if technology really destroyed jobs, there would have been no work today for anyone. The technological revolution we have seen in the past 30 years has been unparalleled and exponential, and yet there are more jobs today and probably better salaries than before. Therefore, we need to shift the dialogue from the type of jobs that can be protected to a conversation about jobs that can and will be created.
As an example, the banking industry has undergone changes over the years, where some of the traditional tasks like passbook updating, cash deposit, verification of KYC details and salary uploads have been automated for operational efficiency. The focus is shifting from transactions to advisory and consultation. In the near term, AI is not going to replace 'judgment' aspects and therefore dealing with complex cases, which are high-value in any domain including banking, will be what is required. Employees will need to build skills on reading data, making sense out of the reams of analysis that will become available and be able to provide solutions that work.
Across industries, though some jobs will be automated in the next few years, jobs with higher skill levels will still be in demand. This would mean a focused approach towards reskilling the existing workforce and preparing for the future. A good education will be imperative to acquire skills that are competitive in the evolved labour market. This also means that the current system of education will need a rather extensive, and much needed, overhaul.
We will need to think about what this will mean for us as a society from the policy point of view. What can we do to ensure that opportunities for upward mobility are not hindered with the change in market dynamics? We will probably need to look at making it easier for entrepreneurs to start new firms and employ people in new forms of work.
As employers, we would need to think of alternative models to build talent. In his book Humans Need Not Apply, Jerry Kaplan also proposes a so-called "job mortgage" as a new type of financial instrument through which employers, vocational schools and colleges would have an incentive to collaborate in a new way. He suggests (among other things) that employers can commit to an intent to employ an individual in the future if that person commits to acquire a specific set of skills over a certain time frame.
In the new future, we would have to look at more such innovative thinking to manage the challenge. Governments and businesses will need to come up with a concerted approach on education, skills and employment and will have to work together. This itself can create a talent revolution that we need for an AI-driven future.
Companies are already using or testing AI and machine-learning systems and the emergence of entire categories of new, uniquely human jobs has been identified. These roles are not replacing old ones. They are novel, and require skills and training that have no precedents.
It is important to realise that humans are not really being left behind. As computers become more and more intelligent, humans will evolve in parallel, possibly with the help of embedded intelligent chips and BCIs (Brain-Computer Interfaces). The focus, therefore, should be to create systems that let humans combine what they are good at — asking the right questions and interpreting results — with what machines are good at: computation, analysis, and statistics using large datasets. We cannot peer into the uncertain future but we can certainly think about an exciting present which has a real potential of creating great value for the business.
What individuals can do is to be constantly in touch with the progress of technology in their field. This will help identify how our roles could possibly evolve and the next step is then to make sure we develop the skills required to step into the newly created role requirements.
Jobs in the AI age will clearly be violet pills!
Times of India Jul 12, 2017, 05:40 PM IST By Madhavi Lall
Do administrators in education sector is concern or competent to judge this?
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