Warning! If you’re tired of reading articles on how AI is taking over the world, save yourself and move on. Because that’s what this column is about.
Well, not exactly how AI is taking over the world, but how more and more jobs seem to be going down the AI yellow brick road only to vanish forever. This sci fi landscape we’ve found ourselves in reminds me of T.H.R.U.S.H. from the Cold War classic television series “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”
T.H.R.U.S.H. stood for Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity. Thankfully, T.H.R.U.S.H was soundly trounced every week by the U.N.C.L.E. agents (the good guys working for United Network Command for Law Enforcement).
The problem is, as far as I know, we don’t have any U.N.C.L.E. agents on the payroll now.
I think about T.H.R.U.S.H. when coworkers comment “If we had AI to do this job, we’d have more free time to do (fill in the blank but it’s usually something along the lines of playing a game or taking a nap).”
Being a natural born party pooper, I am compelled to point out that if we had AI to do whatever we were doing, we wouldn’t have jobs and if we didn’t have jobs, we wouldn’t have money and if we didn’t have money, we couldn’t afford to do ANYTHING.
“But we would have more time to be creative,” is the usual comeback. “You don’t need money to be creative.”
I don’t know about other people, but for many of us trying to be creative is just as hard, if not harder, than working a regular job and doesn’t pay nearly as well.
It’s a good thing the AI proponents want to be creative since creative-type jobs are among the few that won’t be as affected by AI according to a list I found that was most likely AI generated.
The list of creative jobs that AI supposedly can’t replace includes “glass blower,” “watchmaker,” and “circus performer.” I can understand a circus performer not being replaced by a robot, sort of, but a glass blower and a watchmaker? How’d they dodge the AI bullet?
Some not creative jobs but still on the safe-from-AI short list are teachers since hardly anyone wants to deal with high school students anymore — not even robots — and media/communications jobs such as investigative reporters and talk show hosts. All other journalists should be afraid. Very afraid.
The list did include public utility jobs AI can’t do like linemen, gas inspectors and nuclear power plant managers. It’s a relief to know someone in the AI world has retained a little common sense.
When it comes to healthcare, nurses and doctors are in the clear, but I have a few doubts as I’ve heard stories about nurses covering multiple patients via Zoom and virtual doctors’ appointments that make this cynic wonder if you’re really talking to a doctor or if it isn’t some kind of Wizard of Oz sleight of hand. (“Is this person really a doctor or did they just play one on TV?”)
A final few “safe” jobs include politician and humanitarian, clearly two career paths that rarely cross. I suppose even AI couldn’t manufacture the stuff so many politicians dream up and being human seems like a number one requirement for a humanitarian.
That AI is already abundant in our daily lives is as clear as the noses on each of our faces. That there isn’t a darn thing we can do about it other than flee society and pitch a tent in the middle of the woods is also clear.
The continuing growth of AI and the ardent hope that some way, somehow it will be reined in reminds me of stories about people who thought horses could never be replaced by cars and considered television to be a “fad.” It seems no matter how many times human nature is proven wrong, we prefer to keep hoping that this time we’ll be right.
I guess all we can do is wait and see. Oh, and work on being creative. There might be a future in it.