Every new revolutionary technology usually has benefits and a couple of challenges. Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is one of the most powerful computing technologies we have seen in the last couple of decades, is not any different. It has a wide range of use cases in almost every industry. However, one of the main threats that AI is posing is its potential to replace humans in doing certain tasks.
A 2020 report by Word Economic Forum shows that AI could displace over 85 million jobs by 2025. This is a threat to the already high rates of unemployment across the globe. In this article, I will share with you some of the jobs that could be fully taken over by AI in the next couple of years. I will also share some tips on how to avoid being the next victim of AI.
Most of the questions we ask the people doing customer service in various companies are usually similar. If millions of people use a particular product, chances are high that the problems they will likely face with that product are related. So, most companies have already integrated AI into their support services to handle some of the common queries.
All the modern CRM and helpdesk tools have also integrated AI and machine learning capabilities that handle repetitive queries. Of course, AI will likely not take away all the customer services jobs because some tasks still require human judgment and critical thinking. However, AI will likely continue reducing the number of people companies need to deploy at their customer service help centers.
1. Customer ServiceMost of the questions we ask the people doing customer service in various companies are usually similar. If millions of people use a particular product, chances are high that the problems they will likely face with that product are related. So, most companies have already integrated AI into their support services to handle some of the common queries.
All the modern CRM and helpdesk tools have also integrated AI and machine learning capabilities that handle repetitive queries. Of course, AI will likely not take away all the customer services jobs because some tasks still require human judgment and critical thinking. However, AI will likely continue reducing the number of people companies need to deploy at their customer service help centers.
2. ProofreadingCreating content is almost done by every company in this era. This content could include customer support articles, product announcements, website content, and more. Before AI-powered tools, proofreading was done by humans to identify and eliminate any grammar errors from the content created.
In companies that create lots of content daily, proofreading is a full-time job for some people. However, these kinds of jobs will soon be entirely replaced as AI-powered proofreading tools like Grammarly continue to get better. Proofreading tools can identify almost every type of grammar error in your content. They also have other sophisticated capabilities such as tone adjustments, plagiarism detection, formality level, and more. With such capabilities, it is possible to rely on these tools for proofreading and to improve your content. Of course, these tools can’t fix bad content, but they can be used to improve it.
3. Data entry and bookkeepingCompanies are starting to use AI-powered tools to enable automated bookkeeping. Tools like FreshBooks and QuickBooks are now integrated into the many other apps that organizations rely on in their operations. So, most of this data is automatically exported to these data analysis tools without the need of any human in between.
For example, companies that use ecommerce to sell their products can now integrate bookkeeping software into their ecommerce site. So, all the sales and revenue will automatically be exported to these tools without the need for humans to manually input this data into Excel sheets like they used to do a couple of years back. These tools will also create graphs and several other visual representations of data to make it easier for anyone to interpret. Another added advantage of using AI-powered tools is that they are more accurate than humans and do these tasks in less time.
4. Taxi and bus driversAll the big tech and automotive companies have heavily invested in research related to autonomous vehicles. The goal is to create cars that can take us wherever we want without needing a driver. Most big automotive brands, including Tesla, Mercedes, Volks Wagen, and Ford, already have self-driving capabilities in their cars.
For instance, with Tesla’s Autopilot, the car to steer, accelerate, and brake within its lane without any input from the driver. All this is possible thanks to the many cameras and sophisticated AI systems that these cars use to make decisions. Of course, we don’t have a fully autonomous vehicle, but there are good signs that we are getting closer to that future. There are good chances. That means people whose livelihood relies on driving taxis and buses risk losing their jobs in the next couple of years.
5. Market research analystsAlmost every business needs a market research analyst to help them gather data about the ever-changing trends in the market. This data can later be used to make vital business decisions determining the company’s fate. However, we now have AI-powered tools like Attest that can be used to do this kind of research and analysis.
All you need to do is provide these tools with a few parameters, and they will do all the research and analysis, just like a full-time market research analyst.
How to avoid losing your job to AIIf your work is related to any of the jobs we have shared above, you can do a couple of things to avoid being inevitably unemployed in the next couple of years.
• Look at AI as your companion and not your competition:It is important to look at AI as a tool that you can use to boost your productivity. This will motivate you to acquire skills that can only be complemented but not replaced by AI. For instance, if you are a market analyst, you should think of gaining more knowledge on how to make better choices based on the market data presented by AI-powered tools.
• Improve your soft skills:Skills like leadership, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and inventing will likely not be replaced by AI any time soon. Improving these kinds of skills will keep you relevant in the job market for many years to come.
• Be flexible:The structure of the job market in every industry is ever-changing, and this requires a lot of flexibility if you are to stay relevant in the next couple of years. That is why it is important to be open to acquiring new skills and learning new ways of how your job can be done to avoid being obsolete in the near future.
• Seek knowledge as much as possible:Broad knowledge about your industry will help you figure out the best moves to stay relevant amidst the rapidly growing automation and AI. You can seek Knowledge through reading books and articles, listening to podcasts, and watching YouTube videos with content related to your industry.
All you need to do is provide these tools with a few parameters, and they will do all the research and analysis, just like a full-time market research analyst.
We have shared some of the jobs that AI tools could replace in the next couple of years. It is clear that a significant portion of the jobs we have shared is already being done by AI-powered tools. So, if you are trying to choose a career that you intend to stick to for the next 10 or 20 years, it is safer to choose one that requires skills that can’t easily be replicated by AI.
Emmanuel Ekwedike"Born and raised in Nigeria, this driven AI Research Engineer relocated to Queens, NY at 18 years-old, in pursuit of a higher quality tertiary education and more opportunities for a promising future."
