I was researching what jobs are safe from AI and as I read the following article:
https://www.uscareerinstitute.edu/blog/65-jobs-with-the-lowest-risk-of-automation-by-ai-and-robots
something popped out. The jobs least likely to be impacted by AI:
“are ones that require human qualities that a robot cannot replicate, such as social skills, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal relationships. Fields that are more creative and don’t stick to a rigid routine will also lower the risk of AI replacing jobs in that field.”
The thought being, that the jobs we will inevitably have to focus on educating and training most people for will increase the skills far to many people lack, of which contribute to most of the societal ills we now face. This is exciting for a variety of reasons.
1) Most of these jobs are in fields that are suffering shortages that will be detrimental to society if not corrected.
2) Most of them are people facing meaning you are going to have to interact with other people to learn them.
3) The only way we are going to be able to funnel people into these “AI proof” careers is to invest heavily in education at all levels and lower or eliminate the barriers of entry to higher education.
4) Bye and large, these jobs will cause people to interact in ways that we don't currently which in theory should improve our ability to cooperate and relate to one another.
These are the ideas that first occurred to me but I'm sure there are tons more. There are obviously downsides as removing the vast majority of non-skill specific jobs will hurt a lot of people in the transition period. There will also always be people who will struggle to excel in even the best educational environments and fall behind. For those people, it appears specific-skill vocational trades will be safe for years to come. I don't see AI replacing plummers, electricians, mechanics, most construction jobs, etc any time soon. Then there are the handicapable individuals whose disabilities allow for them to do some menial labor that will be greatly impacted.
While I understand contraianism and nihilism is the flavor of the day, especially in certain corners of the internet, I am myself an eternal optimist. There will come a point when the concerns of communities, governments and corporations converge. The necessity of investments in education, health and well-being will follow so that people can thrive, governments can function and corporations can continue to prosper. I do think, due to the speed of advancements in AI and the time it will take to adapt to those, there will be a ton of pain that follows. I am however optimistic that the outcome will be a more cohesive and less toxic society as a whole.
I am interested in seeing what others think about this and what excitement and fears AI invokes in them. As always, be kind to one another, as well as yourselves.