Impact of AI and Automation on Jobs: Humans Need Not Apply
The influence of AI and automation on a wide range of occupations over the next five years is becoming increasingly apparent:
Retail Salespersons: The advent of online shopping, self-checkout machines, and AI-powered customer service may lead to a substantial decline in demand for retail salespersons, resulting in 4.4 million job losses.
Cashiers: As self-checkout machines and contactless payment options become more prevalent, the need for cashiers may decrease, causing 3.6 million job losses.
Fast Food and Counter Workers: Automation in food preparation and ordering processes could reduce the demand for these workers, leading to 3.4 million job losses.
Office Clerks: With AI-driven software increasingly automating tasks traditionally done by office clerks, such as filing, data entry, and document management, 3.0 million job losses are expected.
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants: AI-powered virtual assistants and automation tools may handle tasks like scheduling and email management, resulting in 3.0 million job losses and a decreased need for traditional secretarial roles.
Manufacturing and Assembly Workers: As robotics and AI continue to advance, manufacturing processes may become further automated, reducing the need for human assembly line workers and causing 2.9 million job losses.
Truck Drivers: With the development of self-driving vehicles, the demand for truck drivers could decline, leading to 1.9 million job losses in the coming years.
Customer Service Representatives: As AI-powered chatbots and virtual customer service agents become more capable, the need for human customer service representatives may decrease, resulting in 2.8 million job losses.
Janitors and Cleaners: Robotics and automation technology in the cleaning industry may replace some janitorial and cleaning roles, resulting in 2.4 million job losses.
Stock Clerks and Order Fillers: Automated inventory management systems and warehouse robots could reduce the demand for these workers, leading to 2.1 million job losses.
Many argue that automation will lead to the creation of new jobs as industries adapt to the changing landscape. However, this notion is misguided. Artists, doctors, professors, analysts, writers, engineers, researchers, and many others will likely see significant reductions in job opportunities. The situation is even more dire than it appears.
The CEO of Stable Diffusion has announced that within five years, 300,000 programming and analysis jobs, just about all of them, will be automated. The automation of programming and analysis tasks will have far-reaching implications for research and development (R&D) in various industries. Organizations will become reliant on AI-generated solutions, eliminating the need for human input in intermediate business decisions and the R&D process. This reliance could ultimately result in a loss of control.
