Get the facts and prepare for an AI-powered future.
Since OpenAI released ChatGPT, we have been hearing about AI-powered tools everywhere.
Surveys show that 35% of Americans fear their jobs will be made redundant by AI, as ChatGPT has already replaced some workers.
While it is difficult to predict how AI tools will ultimately affect the workforce, workers can cultivate soft skills, learn about AI, and gain hands-on experience with tools like ChatGPT to make themselves less likely to be replaced.
This article is for professionals who are concerned about how AI tools may affect their employability and want to take steps to prepare.
Since ChatGPT opened to the public on November 30, 2022, talk of artificial intelligence (AI) transforming business has gone from science fiction to looming concern; the release of AI chatbots has quickly gone from a novelty to a legitimate business and productivity tool, from shock to awe to awe. But amidst this rapid adoption, there is a growing concern about how AI-powered tools will impact the workforce in the coming months and years.
For better or worse, AI-powered tools are here to stay, along with employee concerns and questions about how best to prepare for such a rapidly changing world.
Workers fear AI will take their jobs.
ChatGPT is not the first full-fledged chatbot to use machine learning algorithms to generate human-like responses. But in its breadth of knowledge and capabilities, it surpasses other AI-powered tools, and while ChatGPT may be an amazing and legitimate breakthrough, U.S. workers across industries are understandably fearful of what this technology could mean for their jobs.
Here’s how American professionals and companies are responding to AI-powered tools like ChatGPT:
Americans Fear AI Tools May Take Their Jobs: According to a March 2023 survey by FreelanceWritingJobs.com, 35% of Americans worry that AI will make their job positions redundant. The level of this concern has remained somewhat stable across industries and states, with the exception of a few outliers.
Technology Sector Workers Worry Most About AI: Workers in the technology sector were most worried about losing their jobs in the face of AI advances (64% of those surveyed). In contrast, public sector workers were least worried (19% of those surveyed). This disparity can be attributed to differences in the speed of technology adoption. While the tech industry has already found ways to implement AI-powered tools, the public sector is known for taking longer to adopt technological changes.
Workers Admit AI Makes Their Jobs Easier: The FrelanceWritingJobs survey also found that 36% of respondents admit that AI makes their jobs easier, despite concerns that AI could eliminate some jobs. This data is consistent with Resume Builder’s February 2023 survey findings that ChatGPT is helping to lighten the load for some workers by handling mundane tasks such as writing meeting summaries.
AI is replacing some jobs: 48% of companies that participated in Resume Builder’s survey indicated that ChatGPT is replacing workers. Resume Builder found that ChatGPT has saved these companies over $50,000, and this figure could increase. In addition, Resume Builder found that 63% of business leaders surveyed believe that ChatGPT will definitely or probably lead to layoffs. This potential for labor disruption is further complicated by the pace of AI development.
The use of AI tools is likely to increase rapidly: the range of tasks associated with ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools is likely to increase dramatically in the near future. Resume Builder found that even though ChatGPT was only released three months before the survey, 49% of respondents are already using it.
AI Trends to Watch
The rapid adoption of ChatGPT indicates that AI is a prominent SMB technology trend that has the potential to bring about significant changes in the way individuals work and do business.
Resume Builder found that 49 percent of companies have adopted ChatGPT at least to some degree within three months of its release, while 30 percent of respondents said they plan to adopt the tool. Of that 30 percent, 85 percent planned to adopt ChatGPT in some form within the next six months.
So what can AI tools do now? And what possibilities do they hold for the not-so-distant future?
What AI tools can already do
According to Resume Builder, companies can use ChatGPT for junior-level tasks, allowing employees to focus on more advanced and strategic work. Below are some examples of how companies are using ChatGPT
– Help write code (66%)
– Create copy and content (58%)
– Provide customer support (57 percent)
– Create meeting summaries (52 percent)
Additionally, Resume Builder found evidence that AI is transforming human resources (HR) departments. For example, HR departments are using AI to
– Create job resumes (77 percent)
– Create interview questions (66 percent)
– Respond to applicants (65 percent)
Tech companies are also folding ChatGPT into their products, and the pace of adoption of AI tools is expected to increase.
Here are some examples:
Microsoft: Microsoft has incorporated ChatGPT into Microsoft 365 through Copilot, an AI tool built into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams.Copilot, use many of ChatGPT’s features to create proposals in Word based on data provided, analyze trends, communicate project breakdowns in Excel, and create PowerPoint slides based on information pulled from a Word file.
Salesforce Salesforce has incorporated ChatGPT into its product line, creating EinsteinEinstein GPT. Salesforce says this is the first generative AI for customer relationship management software. It can help generate personalized emails for salespeople, generate responses to customer inquiries, create targeted content for marketers, and code for developers. Salesforce has also integrated ChatGPT with Slack to provide conversation summary and writing assistance.
The Future of AI Tools
AI-powered tools have the potential to be game changers. The pace of development and other potential breakthroughs make it incredibly difficult to predict the overall future of AI tools.
Here is a glimpse of today’s most advanced AI-powered tools:
GPT-4. openAI released ChatGPT in November 2022. Since then, the company has released GPT-4, which outperforms ChatGPT on every metric: GPT-4 was found to have better problem-solving capabilities and broader general knowledge. Also capable of visual input, such as photographs, the GPT-4 scored in the 90th percentile on the Unified Bar Exam (up from 10% on the ChatGPT) and in the 99th percentile on the Biology Olympiad (up from 31%).
Google Bard Google’s Bard aims to help users do research; according to Google, Bard allows users to “explain new discoveries from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old child, learn more about the best in soccer right now by striker, learn more about strikers, and get drills to improve their skills,” it can help.
Meta’s LLaMa. designed to help researchers advance the study of AI.
Meta’s CICERO.AI tools have typically replicated lower-level human skills, such as summarization and product automation. However, another AI tool, called CICERO by Meta, has achieved human-like performance in the strategy game Diplomacy. This is at least a limited indication that AI tools can perform more advanced reasoning.
Stability AI, an OpenAI competitor, is developing models for a variety of AI use cases, including audio production and conducting medical and biological research.
PwC, a consulting firm, has entered into a 12-month partnership to provide 4,000 lawyers with AI-powered tools to help speed up their work on due diligence, regulatory compliance, and contract analysis. Other large firms, such as Bain & Company, have said they are also exploring the possibility of partnering with AI to improve efficiency.
AI Tools May Continue to Support Workers
The proliferation of AI tools means that there are unpredictable dynamics in the types of tools that will be generated, who will use them, how they will be used, and what the overall impact will be. It must be remembered that, at least at this stage, these partnerships are intended to ease the burden on employees, not replace them, and there are optimistic predictions that AI tools may continue to work that way, helping employees and increasing workplace satisfaction.
MIT’s “Experimental Evidence on the Productivity Effects of Generative Artificial Intelligence” study enrolled 444 college-educated professionals to examine the direct impact of AI-powered tools The study enrolled 444 college-educated professionals to examine the direct impact of AI-powered tools. Half of the study was given access to ChatGPT. The results revealed the following
Average productivity increased significantly with access to ChatGPT.
ChatGPT benefited lower-performing students more than higher-performing students.
Using ChatGPT shifted work from rough drafts to editing and idea generation.
Job satisfaction improved.
