Digitization has affected the way we think about ourselves. It is popular to look for analogies: man as a natural computer, which will be "defeated" by powerful technology far beyond human skills. However, completely different scenarios are possible.
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What will become of us? - this is not only a fragment of a once popular song, but also a very current question that employers and employees are increasingly asking themselves. The development of artificial intelligence and the accompanying speculations about the revolution it is supposed to cause in the labor market, make it difficult to look into the future with optimism. But is it justified?
Digitization has affected the way we perceive ourselves and think about ourselves. It is popular to look for analogies: man as a natural computer, which will soon be "defeated" by powerful technology that goes far beyond human skills and capabilities. Robert J. Marks, author of the book Non-computable you: What You Do That Artificial Intelligence Never Will, brilliantly deals with this style of thinking. The author himself is the creator of the field of computational intelligence, that part of artificial intelligence that has a real track record and realistic aspirations. He is therefore perfectly prepared to quench excessive excitement and track down nonsense that infects artificial intelligence when it moves from computer science to science fiction.
"People will soon be replaced by machines", "computers will match human intelligence, and then surpass it", "soon we will be uploading ourselves to digital media and achieve immortality" - Marks convincingly shows that all these claims are more improbable than ancient myths and that in reality they constitute a religious confession for modern materialists.
- People have amazing abilities that machines will never match or surpass, from raw sensory experiences to the creativity of our most outstanding artists and inventors. Marks concludes that people are unique and do not share their unique status with machines – wrote philosopher and mathematician William A. Dembski after reading this book.
We may not yet share the same status, but we are increasingly sharing responsibilities. AI, in most cases, facilitates and streamlines the performance of work duties. And in some - completely removes them from us. Man is moving towards supervisory roles and strictly control functions.
- Cognitive skills are gaining in importance, showing how the role of a complex approach to problem solving is growing. It is therefore worth paying attention to what distinguishes us from machines. And perhaps for the first time in 200 years we can be more human and it will pay off – commented on the report The future of Jobs 2023 Jowita Michalska from Digital University.
According to the World Economic Forum, text editors are among the professional groups most threatened by automation. AI is already used in content analysis, its correction or writing summaries. Every day, tools supporting the content creation process are enriched with new functions - they are already able to write content tailored to the channel of their later distribution, the quality of translations is also constantly improving. Writing with flair, in a certain style or so-called light pen is still a human domain. But the race is on and copywriters are advised to consider other career development paths.
Insurance agents and analysts find themselves in a similar situation. AI surpasses our capabilities in the area of risk analysis, but it will not conduct conversations with clients, it will not place the situation in a broader context and even if it makes a decision, it will do so by omitting issues that only a human can perceive in direct contact with another human. Not yet.
Mathematicians are also in the crosshairs of automation. We wrote about AI "lecturers" - Harvard University has permanently introduced an artificial teacher of programming into its educational offer. The creation and interpretation of subsequent mathematical theories is still the domain of man, translating them into specific solutions - also. But the astronomical pace of calculations performed by artificial intelligence is so necessary and attractive that funds for the development of this technology are flowing in a wide stream. The development of further functions is therefore a matter of time. It may turn out that mathematicians will start losing their jobs before anyone can count to three. Well, maybe to a million.
Consolation can be sought from bioengineers and scientists in the field of medicine. These professional groups are in the same situation. AI plays a significant role in the process of searching for and developing new drugs. Experiments and analysis of results are areas where AI still struggles and has to rely on human support. However, it must be admitted that it requires it less and less with each passing week.
In September, there were media reports about a new investment by the Polish branch of Unilever:
- Unilever, one of the largest global players in the FMCG market, is expanding its factory in Poznań and increasing production. The investment worth nearly 90 million zlotys will start this year - it was reported on the zrobotyzowany.pl portal - As part of the investment, a new production line will be created, which will allow to increase the production capacity of the ramen category for Knorr, Unox and Amino brands. Full automation will allow for efficiency at the level of 600 thousand. packages per day. In addition, as part of a larger investment plan, Unilever will be implementing the latest technological innovations at the factory, including increased process automation, smart warehouses or the use of sustainable energy.
Does it sound like science fiction? Unilever's investment fits into global trends. Automation will cover all areas of work based on repeatability and routine. And so, for many unskilled workers, this means the threat of job loss. However, a university degree no longer protects against the need for constant upgrading of qualifications. The English term lifelong learning denotes an attitude that will have to characterize everyone in the future. A focus on development, change, learning new tools and skills will be necessary in a reality that is changing at an unprecedented pace. At the same time, the importance of so-called soft skills, which have often been treated "stepmotherly", is increasing.
As Deloitte reports in the Human Capital Trends report, interpersonal skills and competencies and the ability to effectively acquire new knowledge can provide a constant point of reference in a rapidly changing environment.
As jobs disappear and new ones emerge, internal mobility for laid-off workers will also be key. Upskilling and retraining will likely be a shared responsibility of the employee, the company, and to some extent, the government. Technology will become part of the solution. As technology and connectivity increasingly embed themselves in our daily lives, they can enable lifelong learning and skill development for an increasing number of workers. Connectivity enables collaboration and knowledge sharing.
However, some interviewees quoted in the report warn that technology and connectivity cannot fully replace co-creation, collaboration, and innovation that are only possible in personal contact. Society, organizations, and workers themselves are usually not prepared for continuous change. Organizations may find themselves in a complex network of technology and point solutions that actually do not save time, but can lead to frustration, conflicts, and consequently - leaving work.
For now, AI poses challenges primarily for employers. It is their responsibility to implement modern tools, educate employees, and maintain a sense of common purpose and belonging in teams. Working in hybrid teams has significantly weakened these two important elements of collaboration. We observe a great return to the stationary model, with a huge resistance from employees, for whom flexibility has become one of the basic criteria for choosing an organization. Employers who have allowed their teams to operate in a hybrid style have failed - over 50% of companies that have switched to this style of work have not implemented an appropriate training system and toolkits to help in its proper organization.
- The office is becoming more important than ever. The more our contact is exclusively remote, the more eager we are to meet face to face. The workplace must become competitive with the home office. It should actually be much better, so that employees want to be there at all - believes Jeoren Lokerse, CEO of Cushman & Wakefield
Jowita Michalska from Digital University described the areas where the jobs of the future will appear:
- The world is transforming, and with it, the competencies that are necessary to work and prosper in it are changing. According to the World Economic Forum's "The Future of Jobs Report", companies expect that by 2025, 44% of the skills that employees need to effectively perform their tasks will change. The fourth industrial revolution, introducing innovations in areas such as robotics, 3D printing, vehicle automation, the internet of things, and cloud computing, is crucial to this issue.
Technology will become the answer, or rather - one of the answers - to crises related to climate change. 3D printing can be helpful in crisis situations and mass relocations - research in the field of designing and producing temporary shelters is rapidly developing. Drone technology is also currently one of the fastest-growing groups. Humanity plans to conquer space - space tourism, although it still seems distant and accessible to a very narrow target group, may become an important topic in the coming years.
These areas need to be carefully observed and consider your own place in the rapidly changing reality. There are no other options. The change will eventually affect everyone to a lesser or greater extent and entrepreneurs surveyed as part of the Future of Work Report 2023 are aware of this. As many as 85% of respondents believe that without the implementation of solutions based on artificial intelligence and education in the field of digitization and automation within a given organization, the chances of development and staying on the market will be close to zero.
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