In times of extreme technological advancement, fears of mass unemployment have often accompanied the ground-breaking innovations of the day. Conversations continue around how artificial intelligence (AI) will change the future of work. It is at once estimated that up to one-third of all jobs could be at risk of automation in the next decade and also that AI could create millions more jobs than it displaces.
Employees should be advised to consider all parts of their position and what could possibly be taken over by AI. Figure out what part of your position can’t be taken over by AI or where AI might need human intervention and become the go-to person for those tasks. Employees need to find ways to grow their skills and stay relevant in their field if they don’t want their job to be given to AI.
AI is helping companies do "much more with less", including The DCANS Group Limited.
SOCIETAL ADAPTATIONS
Some of it forced, though technological shifts is not a new phenomenon. The advent of the steam engine in the early 19th century, the mass production of steel in the 1850s and the rise of the internet in the 1990s all prompted widespread fears of established roles disappearing. Yet, history has shown that although certain occupations did cease to exist, new and generally better ones emerged.
About 44% of organizations expect AI to lead to some layoffs in 2024. However, the same study also reveals a broader perspective: 96% of hiring companies believe candidates will benefit from having AI skills.
The critical point: Although AI will likely replace certain roles, headlines predicting widespread aggregate job losses fail to account for the wider picture.
RISING AI ROLES
AI is poised to create whole new sectors and job roles, many of which we cannot yet envisage. It seems obvious now to record how the internet gave birth to e-commerce and an array of new business and employment opportunities, but most of those were far from apparent when the "Information Superhighway" first emerged from its laboratories.
In 1856, when steel production first became industrialized, shipping and railroads were seen as the areas most likely to be transformed.
Fast-forward, the early roles in AI development are iterations of existing occupations: From testing and deploying AI products to designing AI-driven customer experiences, there's a wealth of AI-created employment opportunities already, even before future waves of possibilities reveal themselves.
New, AI-powered or AI-supported roles will require a blend of traditional workplace skills and new, AI-specific competencies. Occupations created by AI will make up a fraction of the new “jobs of the future” that will employ today’s children, 65% of whom will be working in a job that doesn’t exist yet, according to a 2016 World Economic Forum report.
Businesses that invest in retraining and upskilling their workforce stand to benefit the most, turning potential disruption into opportunities for growth, innovation and competitive advantage.
FUTURE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE (CX) TODAY
The sector most likely to benefit from early AI transformation is customer experience (CX), with many business leaders identifying customer support roles in contact centers as one of the first places to benefit from AI's productivity increases.
Up to 35% performance improvements in contact centers, which increases per-head productivity without necessarily replacing workers.
Instead of reducing headcount, businesses will be able to redeploy employees to areas where their skills can drive greater customer satisfaction and loyalty, such as becoming multiskilled service agents who work across a variety of communication channels.
These AI-assisted agents benefit from a reduction in repetitive tasks such as collecting information around a customer query or searching for associated knowledge articles, the bulk of which can be automated to save time and improve job satisfaction.
Suddenly, the skills required by an agent shift from administrative competence to becoming focused on building relationships with customers and delivering empathy, the “human touch” that qualified customers increasingly demand.
HERE TO STAY
At the end of the day, employees need to realize that AI isn’t coming, it’s here. It’s time to embrace it if it may be a threat to your position or career path. Although the rise of AI does pose profound challenges to the future of the job market, it also offers unprecedented opportunities for growth and innovation. By learning from past workforce changes that resulted from technological shifts and proactively preparing for the future of AI, especially in CX, we as a society can navigate AI’s influence on the job market to the best effect.
AI has the potential to transform whole industries, create new roles and enhance productivity, ensuring that the workforce of tomorrow is not only employed but also empowered by technology’s advancements.
..
RELATED PAGES