There is a great article on LinkedIn that talks about the threat of something like ChatGPT to eliminate jobs (or other AI) by Dr. Scott Dell called AI (artificial intelligence) is expected to eliminate 85 million jobs… and create 97 million. Here is a more specific article for a certain position: Will ChatGPT put data analysts out of work?
That’s a scary title. 85 million jobs eliminated? What does that even mean? Everyone will be affected by this, no matter what your role is. You will either be directly affected (“eliminated”) or be affected indirectly as your role as you know it changes, perhaps completely.
Let’s say no jobs were cut and just move on to the second part of the title: “and create 97” million jobs.
Again, wow, and maybe scary! Firstly because of the magnitude of the almost one hundred million people affected, secondly because, well, change is scary.
Imagine everything you do today, the value you bring, the training you’ve had, everything you’ve learned and practiced and excelled at, changing. It’s like a hard reset where new leaders, new thought leaders, new experts, rise to the top, and the “old guard,” if you will, is left wondering what the hell is going on while lamenting the way things used to be.
Change can be as exciting as it can be miserable.
So ChatGPT. This amazing technology that no one had heard of until everyone started talking about it is pretty impressive. I work with a colleague who has it all day and uses it regularly. He changed the search engine and complimented, powerfully, his own thoughts. It is impressive to watch.
I have also seen examples of it being, at times, a complete and utter failure. A task he is asked to do, or explain, is outdated, or just plain wrong (while seeming quite authoritative). “It’s not there yet,” is a phrase I hear all the time.
Will ChatGPT eliminate jobs?
Yes. Without a doubt. Well, maybe not ChatGPT… but some form of AI does. Lately, with this ChatGPT in so many regular conversations I have (at work, at home, etc.), it feels like we’re at the very beginning of a feature film.
What does this mean about us, and our careers?
What we may have felt comfortable doing, for years or decades, can evaporate overnight. scary things.
But will there be opportunities?
Yes.
learn new things. Ride the wave of new technology, new processes, new systems, new products, new thinking.
Some will embrace it. Others will shrink and fade away for better days.
But the toothpaste was out of the tube. We are not moving away from AI. And for all the problems AI has now, they will improve over time, perhaps much faster than you expect.
What to do?
Work on you. Ono’s number.
Figure out what skills you’re interested in learning and excelling at, and work on those. If these skills become obsolete, you’ll practice learning and improving, which you can use over and over again until you die.
seriously. Perhaps the most important skills you can learn are the skills of learning and improvement. Take the muscles you develop while learning and improving and apply them to anything.
Find out which industries will change because of AI, and how, and think about new roles that may be needed. Find out which roles should be made obsolete, and avoid them (or maybe learn how to train those people for the new roles… oh, you just created a value-added position for yourself!).
Find out how to learn about what’s going on without fear, to the point of being unable to do anything. Look for problems to solve, opportunities to step into, and people to guide you. Beware of false starts…ideas that seem super cool but don’t really go anywhere (other than wasting time).
Change is in the air. Jobs will be eliminated, but new jobs will come. Be open, be flexible, be excited. And put yourself in the right places, physically and mentally, to be ready when opportunity knocks on your door.
Are you afraid of changes that AI will bring to your career? Now is the time to plan for when ChatGPT will eliminate jobs… We’ve all been shocked by the rapid progress, and we’re not going back.
