On the surface, these survey results seem pretty damning.  If AI can do the job, why not use it instead of expensive humans? What does the future really look like for the workforce in the face of transformational, generative AI technology?

We’ve been hearing about machines replacing people for hundreds of years. Tractors and farm machinery replaced thousands of farm hands, computers replaced typing pools in the 80’s and 90’s, I’d estimate AI will have a similar impact.

There will be significant change, but its unlikely that change will be negative as evidenced by history.  In an excellent article by Joe McKendrick in Forbes he states “artificial intelligence will replace tasks, not jobs” which is more or less exactly what has happened in technological revolutions of the past.  It may even be that AI makes our lives easier in the long run.

The World Economic Forum had a similar outlook, way back in 2018 stating that “75 million jobs will vanish by 2022, but 133 million new positions will replace these. In fact, with the current rate of development, AI is not by far a competitor but at most a junior assistant.” for the most part, this appears to have largely come true (adjusting for the pandemic of course).

Ultimately, It’s probably that AI will likely help most industries perform, and optimise basic tasks but will still need hands-on human supervision and oversight for the foreseeable future.