A Dublin AI expert says that a ‘transformation’ in the jobs market is on the way, and that he is ‘optimistic’ Artificial Intelligence will create exciting new roles in the future.
Since the launch of ChatGPT last November, there has been growing concern over potential job losses, as the new technology is likely to make businesses much more efficient. However, the Director of Machine Learning at Irish tech unicorn Intercom, Fergal Reid, has a more positive outlook on what the future may hold for the workforce.
Dublin man Fergal, who has a PHD in Computer Science, Machine Learning and Complex Networks from UCD, told Dublin Live that while there is likely to be job losses, there will also be some exciting changes. Speaking at the Dublin Tech Summit, Fergal said: "AI will definitely make jobs more efficient…and probably some jobs will be lost. But maybe what is more likely is that jobs will change and more jobs will be created.
"The classic example here is ATMs for banks. In America when they increased the amount of ATMs they actually ended up increasing the amount of bank cashiers as well because cashiers were able to do more valuable jobs because they weren’t dispensing cash all the time. I would be optimistic that the current generation of technology will just make people a lot more efficient and jobs will transform."
Read more: Medi-tech firm BD announces 85 new jobs as €4m R&D centre opened in Dublin
Intercom specialises in business messaging, providing businesses with a way to chat with their customers. The company employs around 400 people in Dublin and has recently launched a new product called Fin, an AI chatbot powered by GPT-4 that will significantly improve customer support, answering questions faster and more accurately.
This new tech will not only offer customers a better experience, it will also save businesses money. However, these savings are likely to be made by reducing staff in customer support.
But what new jobs will be created in the future to replace more traditional customer support roles?
"If your job used to be in customer support, you used to answer the same question again and again and again. Now instead the job will be to design a bot and check what the bot says and make sure that it’s doing a good job at answering those questions," says Fergal.
"So there will be a change and a transformation in jobs. There may be job losses, there may be job shifts, or there may be net job growth like in customer support. I don’t think we know yet. I think we know that the technology will have a big impact. We’ll just have to wait and see."
Fergal wasn’t the only person to address the concern around job losses at the Dublin Tech Summit last week. Dr Patricia Scanlon, Ireland’s first AI Ambassador, addressed the issue in her keynote speech.
"We are having two conversations. One is about job losses and one is we don’t have enough people to do the work in AI. Job losses will be real. It happens with every revolution.
"We need upskilling and transferable skills into the AI space. But it doesn’t have to be in technology.
"Technologists and engineers and data scientists, absolutely we need them. But to deploy this, to monitor it, regulate it, get it into real products - all that will require all the skills outside of technology."
Read next:
- Dublin City Council begins city wide upgrade of public lighting infrastructure
- New Dublin Airport 3D security scanners will end liquid restrictions
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
