There is a great article on LinkedIn talking about the threat of something like ChatGPT eliminate jobs (or other AI) by Dr. Scott Dell titled AI (Artificial Intelligence) Anticipated to Eliminate 85M Jobs… and to Create 97M. Here’s an article that’s more specific to a certain role: Will ChatGPT Put Data Analysts Out of Work?
That is a scary title. 85 million jobs eliminated? What does that even mean? Every person will be impacted by this, no matter what your role is. You will either be directly impacted (“eliminated”) or indirectly impacted as your role as you know it changes, perhaps completely.
Let’s say that no jobs were eliminated and just go to the second part of that title: “and to create 97” million jobs.
Again, wow, and perhaps scary! First because of the magnitude of almost one hundred million people being impacted, second because, well, change is scary.
Imagine everything you do today, the value you bring, the training you had, everything you have learned and practiced and excelled in, changing. It’s like a hard reset where new leaders, new thought leaders, new experts, rise to the top, and the “old guard,” if you will, is left wondering what the heck is going on while lamenting how things used to be.
Change can be as exciting as it can be crappy.
So ChatGPT. This amazing technology that no one heard of until everyone started talking about is quite impressive. I am working with a colleague who has it up all day long and uses it regularly. It has replaced the search engine and complimented, in a powerful way, his own thoughts. It’s impressive to watch.
I’ve also seen examples of how it’s, at times, a complete and utter failure. A task it’s asked to do, or explain, is outdated, or simply wrong (while appearing to be quite authoritative). “It’s not there yet,” is a phrase I keep hearing.
Will ChatGPT Eliminate Jobs?
Yes. Without a doubt. Well, maybe not ChatGPT… but some form of AI will. Lately, with this ChatGPT in so many regular conversations I have (at work, at home, etc.), it feels like we are at the very beginning of a scifi movie.
What does that mean for us, and our careers?
What we may have grown comfortable doing, for years or decades, might evaporate overnight. Scary stuff.
But will there be opportunities?
Yes.
To learn new things. To ride the wave of new technology, new processes, new systems, new products, new thinking.
Some will embrace it. Others will shrink away and wish for better days.
But the toothpaste is out of the tube. We aren’t going away from AI. And for all the problems AI has now, they’ll get better over time, maybe a lot sooner than you expect.
What To Do?
Work on you. Numero uno.
Figure out what skills you are interested in learning, and excelling at, and work on those. If those skills become obsolete, you will have practiced learning and improving, which you’ll get to use over and over until you die.
Seriously. Maybe the most important skills you can learn are the skills of learning and improving. Take those muscles you develop while learning and improving and apply them to anything.
Figure out what industries will change because of AI, and how, and think about new roles that might be needed. Figure out what roles should become outdated, and avoid those (or maybe you learn how to train those people into the new roles…. ah, you just created a value-add position for yourself!).
Figure out how to learn about what is happening without being fearful, to the point of not being able to do anything. Look for problems to solve, opportunities to step into, and people to guide you. Watch out for false starts… ideas that seem super cool but don’t really go anywhere (except to waste your time).
Change is in the air. Jobs will be eliminated, but new jobs will come. Be open, be flexible, be excited. And put yourself in the right places, physically and mentally, to be ready when opportunity comes knocking at your door.
Are you afraid of changes AI will bring to your career? Now is the time to plan for when ChatGPT eliminate jobs… we’ve all been shocked by the fast progress, and we aren’t going backwards.
