It honestly feels like every other day, there are multiple reports emerging that seemingly spell doom or the complete extinction of job opportunities due to the rapid prevalence and adoption of generative AI.
Microsoft's AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, seemingly shares the same sentiments. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, the executive predicted that AI has the potential of automating almost all tasks in white-collar jobs within the next 12 to 18 months.
Admittedly, the cutting-edge technology has already claimed some entry-level jobs, primarily because of their repetitive and redundant nature. Last year, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei claimed that AI was on the verge of slashing up to 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs, making it harder for the next-generation to get into the job market.
Interestingly, Suleyman said the impact of AI on jobs can already be seen in software engineering. He further indicated that professionals in the field are already using AI-powered coding assistants for the vast majority of their code production.
I think that we're going to have a human-level performance on most, if not all, professional tasks. So white-collar work, where you're sitting down at a computer, either being a lawyer or an accountant or a project manager or a marketing person most of those tasks will be fully automated by an AI within the next 12 to 18 months.
Microsoft AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman
But perhaps more concerningly, while AI shows great promise as a productivity booster, multiple reports suggest that the technology is causing "AI fatigue" among professionals (via Business Insider). The technology might have helped professionals unlock great heights as far as their KPIs are concerned, but on the flip side, the jobs are now harder than ever, leading to extreme exhaustion.
As top AI research labs like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google race toward achieving coveted benchmarks, such as AGI (artificial general intelligence), we're likely to witness drastic changes in the job market as well as other spheres of our lives.
Google's DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis claimed that we're on the verge of achieving the benchmark, but warned that society isn't ready for all that it entails. He claimed that the prospects of AI systems being smarter than humans keep him up at night.
However, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman previously dismissed the claims, indicating that these threats won't present themselves at the AGI moment. Instead, the AGI moment will come within the next 5 years and whoosh by with surprisingly little societal impact.
If AI takes your job, what’s your backup plan? Share your thoughts with me in the comments.
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