How Is Artificial Intelligence Shaping the Future of Work?

With the exponential rise in popularity of Chat GPT, artificial intelligence has become a mainstream topic of conversation and therefore, so too the question of its impact on the future of work.

According to Statista.com, the AI market is set to grow to an estimated worth of $2 trillion by the end of this decade with a potential £15.7 trillion contribution to the global economy, according to PwC.

With this huge value, it’s hardly surprising that this technology is already impacting jobs and employment as companies race to capitalise. As stated in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Work report, 85 million jobs will be replaced by AI by 2025, yet 97 million new jobs will be created.

The World Economic Forum identified tasks such as data collection or ones that require simple, repetitive actions, as being among the first to be overtaken by AI. At least for the foreseeable future though, many tasks will still require a human element and therefore the robots some might think are coming for their jobs are more likely to be colleagues than replacements.  

Generally, allowing AI to analyse data and conduct repetitive tasks can help companies refine processes, reduce errors and improve productivity.  

For example, AI has the potential to objectively collect and analyse data, identifying patterns and making predictions that would be difficult for people to do on their own, freeing employees up to focus on more creative, strategic, or empathetic work.

In the case of the healthcare industry, for example, AI applied to data analysis can free up doctors and nurses to focus on patient care and solving complex cases.

In creative fields, AI can be used to help overcome writers block, suggest colour palettes and design elements, thereby making the creative process more efficient too.

In the education sector AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the production of lesson plans and the marking of tests, leaving teachers more time to focus on their students.

At least for now though, humans can be quicker to adapt to legal and ethical considerations, adding context and intuition that AI can lack, bringing us back to the prediction that humans and AI will coexist in the workplace.

It is expected that many jobs of the future will therefore require AI skills. This could include roles expected to be augmented by AI such as artists, designers, teachers, and those working in healthcare. In addition, it’s likely to include roles related to the AI itself, such as trainers, auditors, risk managers and, of course, researchers, developers, engineers, and maintenance specialists.

But before we get to the jobs, it’s important to consider the recruitment process and the impact of AI on that.

No matter how objective a person tries to be, their past experiences, education, socio-economic background, and other factors, can lead to certain thoughts and reactions which, for those in recruitment, talent acquisition, or HR roles, can introduce unconscious bias into the recruitment process.

Providing AI tools are programmed correctly to avoid the unconscious bias of its programmers, they can be powerful tools to help create fairer recruitment processes.

As dream.jobs CEO and founder Milan Mahovský recently said to The Recursive, AI-powered job search can help jobseekers find the most interesting roles for them more easily, rather than relying on job board filters, for example, which might not show all the relevant opportunities as they are reliant on the inputs of the person who posted the ad.

It also has huge potential to speed up the recruitment process as it can work 24-7 to match CVs and job opportunities with better accuracy than traditional methods. He predicts AI can speed up recruitment processes by 50% to 80%.