Ever since the launch of ChatGPT more than a year ago, the fear of machines taking human jobs has been a topic of dinner-table conversation around the world. But techno-fear is nothing new, and is often misplaced. Looking at the history of technology from the Industrial Revolution onwards, innovations are often accompanied by the fear of job losses - but lead to higher living standards and better pay. In the 1980s, the arrival of accounting software such as Microsoft Excel sparked predictions of the death of accountancy and huge job displacement: the reality was that it created 1.1 million new, better-paid jobs such as financial managers and management analysts between 1987 and 2000, while causing just half a million job losses in lower-paid roles, according to Morgan Stanley. In similar fashion, artificial intelligence will augment human workers, not replace them.
Research with business leaders in the past year indicates artificial intelligence will be a ‘co-worker’, rather than a replacement for human beings. Gabriela Vogel, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner® says, “Machines are evolving from being our tools to becoming our teammates. Gartner® predicts that by 2025, GenAI will be a workforce partner for 90% of companies worldwide.”
