AI and the future of jobs

In today’s AI era, trying to get a job has become increasingly challenging for new graduates. AI tools are automating routine tasks typically done by entry-level workers (e.g., coding, legal research, data entry). Companies are now equipping senior staff with AI tools rather than hiring fresh graduates.

According to Forbes, a 2023 survey found that 52 percent of graduates feel unprepared and 46 percent fear AI could push them out of their jobs. Many firms now seek job applicants with more AI training or those with certifications. AI has reduced entry-level roles at many corporations.

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs report, nine million jobs are expected to be “displaced” by A.I. and other emergent technologies in the next five years.

But the same report says that, by 2030, AI will also create some 11 million new jobs that have never existed before.

The WEF report says a college degree remains valuable, particularly for careers in fields like medicine, law and academia, where specialized knowledge is essential. Degrees can also provide critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

But companies are shifting job hiring emphasis toward skills and competencies rather than academic degrees. Employers put importance on a job-seeker’s capacity to adapt to technological changes over traditional degrees, according to HR website hrkatha.com.

Yet, The Economist observed AI is also new ground for many multinationals. A good number of them are still finding their way in this AI transformation of the workplace, unable to “make neither head nor tail of gen AI.”

On average, the WEF study says “workers can expect that two-fifths of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025-2030 period.”

“Analytical thinking remains the most sought-after core skill among employers, with seven out of 10 companies considering it as essential in 2025. This is followed by resilience, flexibility and agility, along with leadership and social influence…

“While global job numbers are projected to grow by 2030, existing and emerging skills differences between growing and declining roles could exacerbate existing skills gaps.

“Given these evolving skill demands, the scale of workforce upskilling and reskilling expected to be needed remains significant: if the world’s workforce was made up of 100 people, 59 would need training by 2030. Of these, employers foresee that 29 could be upskilled in their current roles and 19 could be upskilled and redeployed elsewhere within their organization. However, 11 would be unlikely to receive the reskilling or upskilling needed, leaving their employment prospects increasingly at risk.”

Skill gaps are considered the biggest barrier to business transformation by WEF’s Future of Jobs Survey respondents, with 63 percent of employers identifying them as a major barrier over the 2025-2030 period.

Accordingly, 85 percent of employers surveyed plan to prioritize upskilling their workforce, with 70 percent of employers expecting to hire staff with new skills, 40 percent planning to reduce staff as their skills become less relevant and 50 percent planning to transition staff from declining to growing roles.

More and more jobs are vulnerable to the challenge of new technology. Even some that most would consider robot and/or AI-proof.

According to brainmanager.io, a blog, winemakers have begun to record some success in developing robots to automate grape picking – a task that was considered safe from robotic intrusion because of its delicateness.

Then, there is this study published in a medical journal of the US National Institutes of Health that “evaluated the performance of ChatGPT, a language-based AI, on the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE)…

“We found that ChatGPT performed at or near the passing threshold of 60 percent accuracy… Impressively, ChatGPT was able to achieve this result without specialized input from human trainers.

“Furthermore, ChatGPT displayed comprehensible reasoning and valid clinical insights, lending increased confidence to trust and explainability.”

But that doesn’t mean ChatGPT will make medical doctors obsolete. According to the NIH study, it will improve the quality of service our human doctors now give us.

“Our study suggests that large language models such as ChatGPT may potentially assist human learners in a medical education setting, as a prelude to future integration into clinical decision-making.”

Are there future-proof careers in an AI-driven world?

Technology-based careers are obviously on top of the list of future-proof jobs. That includes jobs like data scientist, cybersecurity analyst and of course, AI engineer among others.

There will be an increasing need for energy related jobs like Smart Grid engineers, hydrologists and renewable energy engineers.

Careers as health care professionals have always been resistant to disruptions, including recessions. We will always need medical doctors, dentists and registered nurses. But with new technology, there will be work for biomedical engineers, genomic data scientists and genetic counselors among others.

Skills in digital marketing and e-marketing, artificial intelligence and machine learning and fintech will all be in high demand.

Providing social assistance, such as caregivers, seems to be future proof. There will be increasing demand for humans giving essential care and support to individuals facing physical, mental or emotional challenges, including our senior citizens who require assistance with daily living.

Then there is the important role of the early childhood educator. Early childhood teachers shape the foundation for lifelong learning, work that cannot be performed by computers.

While AI will change the way the teachers do their work, teaching children up to age eight basic skills, nurture emotional growth and inspire curiosity through play and storytelling requires human touch. A child’s first role model outside the home can’t be a robot or a computer.

The jobs of the future will all require significant technical aptitude. However, unlike during the first industrial revolution, the speed of skill evolution is faster. This means people must also be able to adapt and evolve with the times.

That’s our brave new world!

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X @boochanco