How AI Is Shaping the Future of Work
AI is reshaping the tech landscape, so what does that mean for the future of work?
Artificial intelligence is everywhere in tech news these days. For many, it seems like the topic exploded out of nowhere with the release of Open AI's ChatGPT. In December of 2022, the service had one million users. By January of 2023, that number had grown to over one-hundred million users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history. This astronomical rise in popularity has brought with it plenty of hand-wringing and lots of speculation about what AI means for the future of work. People are wondering if they'll lose their jobs to AI applications — and if we'll see more automated decision-making.
But that's not entirely the case. A recent article published by Forbes reveals that AI is appearing more and more as one of the most in-demand areas of expertise for job seekers, and jobs requiring AI or machine learning skills will grow by 71% in the next five years. The use of AI in a number of different business sectors has grown by 270% over the last four years — well before the recent ChatGPT craze. Even the job search itself now relies on AI. Up to 75% of resumes get screened by an automated applicant tracking system before any human sees one. So, what's a concerned tech worker to do? What are we even talking about when we throw around the term "AI?" Are all jobs seeking AI skills looking for the same kind of worker?
The term "AI" has really become a generic reference to developments in computing systems and technology that can solve problems or complete tasks that we would typically think require a human mind. Deep learning and machine learning are aspects of AI that mimic how those human minds develop and acquire knowledge. To the uninitiated, it can genuinely feel like the "robots are taking over."
But the reality is that the rise of AI stands to create jobs, not destroy them. We can look to a recent paper by the MIT Task Force on the Work of the Future, "Artificial Intelligence And The Future of Work," for a more optimistic outlook. The authors behind this paper believe that AI will drive large-scale innovation that will create new growth sectors, each of which are going to need skilled workers to keep everything running. Rather than thinking about the future as AI "instead of humans," it's more accurate to think of it as AI "in addition to humans." In everything from education to industry, investment in AI, specifically training workers on how to use it, is going to open more opportunities. 90% of leading businesses are already investing in AI, and more than half of those investing are already seeing greater productivity from AI-driven tech.
And when it comes to robots replacing humans, let's not get too dreamy with how those robots process data. Pure data can easily be biased, based on social inequality or even just the perspectives or gathering practices of those who collected the data in the first place. Biased data means biased AI, and that's not going to help any organization make better, more productive, more profitable decisions. We need humans to properly train our new AI friends so we can avoid this problem and see real results. Even the government can see this coming, and there's a bill before Congress called the Zero to GPT skill path. This path, currently free in beta, is designed to take you from zero deep learning experience to training your own GPT models. Anyone interested in AI can benefit from this skill path and stay relevant in his rapidly developing field. We'll teach you how to train your own model using text-based instruction, video tutorials, diagrams, and (of course) writing your own code. You'll learn everything from the basics of neural networks to cutting-edge techniques for optimizing transformer models.
If you want to be a part of that 90% of leading businesses who are already investing in upskilling workers in AI, Zero to GPT is a great way to show your current (or future!) employer that you're part of that investment.
Come check it out, and get started for free!
