AI Is Coming for Everything — But we Still Have a Choice.

I was thinking … in a world where AI is increasingly overtaking big parts of our lives, where do we still have a place? Will we become outdated or we will shift our attention to more creative and social relevant topics …

There is a very interesting video that I saw the other day, titled “I hate..AI“ from NetworkChuck in which a very good techie explains the part where he became overwhelmed by the rapid and constant updates in the AI space. He took a 3 month sabbatical traveling to Japan in order to get his thoughts straight but even there, the AI news followed him and added to the constant anxiety which he was feeling. That constant anxiety, is felt not only by him, but by all of us , especially when you are watching the IT space. New Models and tools seem to appear every few days or weeks, constantly bombarding the news feed with new opportunities to make work easier and faster but not also with what happens with the work itself.

The anxiety felt by the mentioned Youtuber I am willing to bet that it comes for all of us, especially who . The more you want to learn, as learning is a constant required in our days, the less you seem to be able to absorb as the sheer quantity of information is overwhelming. We work and add constant improvements to our job, using AI, but in doing so we also increase the risk that your job becomes obsolete in a few years. And feeling anxious is the normal response from your brain, as you work against yourself in a way. The interesting part is that the impact felt on a personal level is not really seen in the media, or at least not on a more alarming note.

From time to time, there are shocking news like the way Amazon terminated a few thousands jobs effective immediately through an email but that hardly addresses the issue at hand. It is reporting on something that happen, not taking care that such practices should be, at very least, be mitigated by laws that soften the impact. Now, I live in Europe and laying of employees is done with more empathy. Not because companies are jumping with sadness that they need to lay off someone, but because there are syndicates which are fighting for the rights of each employee. There are laws that prohibit it being done how I like to say, “being done with a shovel“.

Coming back to the anxiety that we feel, I have asked ChatGPT, how our jobs will look like in 10 years and what impact does AI have on all of us. Maybe it’s a question you also placed to the chat Bot. For me it was clear that the impact, regardless on how it will come, will be major not only for IT jobs but also in many other domains of activity. Skills that remain valuable, ironically, the more AI we have, the more human skills matter. Skills like communication, emotional intelligence, problem solving, leadership and interdisciplinary thinking. Let’s take problem solving as an example. We need this skill now as well, but in the age of AI it will be increasingly difficult to develop it. As we integrate more and more AI into our lives, critical thinking, the base for problem solving, is going to be inadvertently affected . Same goes for all other skills as well.

We need to focus on human skills, while those skills are newly defined in collaboration with AI. And that presents another point of anxiety, as we have no clue how to do it. How to use AI to assist thinking, not replace thinking. Especially in educational context where our children should in theory come out of school prepared for the work environment, but they are reading more and more that many jobs will become obsolete in the next 10 years. What an encouragement you get in the forming years…

So what we can do about it?

• First, I believe we should focus on taking care of people. That should be the main goal; the transition to AI driven tech should be done more smoothly, with laws in place that protect the employee and assures that, if being displaced, there are alternatives suggested for each.

• Secondly, we need to urgently modify our educational system, to offer opportunities to the next generation after finishing school.

• Third, we shouldn’t wait for discussing things like UBI (Universal basic income) or reducing the working hours like something of a fantasy story. The reality is that the shift will happen and we should proactively work on this, not wait until people are in the streets demanding a solution for a problem known for years.

• Fourth, work on our attitude towards AI integration. I don’t say we should be happy and ignorant about the things that are happening, but looking for positive things in our day to day activities as well can help reducing the anxiety.

I am confident that we are able to overcome this, so long we are focusing on people first, not profit or stock numbers.

Until next time, TFG