AI, short for artificial intelligence, has taken the world by storm. And while many people love the convenience this exciting new technology offers, others are worried that in the very near future, AI will replace human beings in the workforce, leaving hundreds of thousands if not millions of people unemployed. However, while this fear is understandable, recent studies have shown that it may be unfounded, at least for now.
The AI bots have shown the world that robots can sound like humans, respond accurately to challenging questions, understand math in a way that most humans can’t, and so much more. But there are still quite a few things that AI cannot do. AI models can be trained to sound human, but they still struggle with emotional understanding, cultural sensitivity, and any complex situation or problem. Although some of the greatest minds on the planet have been working tirelessly to make a perfect AI bot, it just doesn’t exist. And most experts agree that it probably never will.
However, there is one way in which AI will likely change certain professions, or more specifically, who gets hired and who doesn’t. Harvard Business School professor Karim Lakhani studied exactly how AI is and will likely affect the workforce, and he said, “AI is not going to replace humans, but humans with AI are going to replace humans without AI. Just as the internet has drastically lowered the cost of information transmission, AI will lower the cost of cognition.”
Essentially, while AI is an incredible technology, it is a tool for humans, not a replacement for them. But the people who understand how to utilize that tool to the best of its abilities will be far more useful than those who don’t. Just like the previous generations who had to learn to use computers in order to stay relevant in their field, professionals will absolutely have to adjust to the ever-changing technology to get or even keep their job.
In fact, professor Lakhani said, “Every executive, every worker needs to have a digital mindset, which means understanding how these technologies work, but also understanding the deployment of them and then the change processes you need to do in terms of your organization to make use of them.”
In his lecture, the Harvard professor also touched on the fact that some people say they don’t want to live in an AI-world, and responded to that concern by saying that we are already here. People use AI almost every day through their smart home devices and most apps. Now, people will simply have to learn how to use it for work if they want to keep up.
Luckily, Karim said that the learning curve is only getting easier; as AI becomes more streamlined, commonplace, and error free, there won’t be anyone who can’t learn how to use it. But on the other hand, then it will be the people who understand the technology the best who get the job of their dreams.
