What will jobs of the future look like? Here’s an idea

Artificial intelligence has been categorised as one of the most influential tech developments ever, and rightfully so.

Artificial intelligence (AI), or the development of computer systems capable of doing tasks that require human intelligence, is a real game changer. It hints at the coming of a great age of technological developments – an age that excites as many people as it frightens.

For the tech enthusiast, it represents an era of intelligent automation that augments human efforts and pushes us even further as a race.

AI offers hope of our coming up with a cure for cancer or figuring out how to have people live in Mars in this lifetime. It’s helping us create better, more efficient products that deal with many of the tasks we consider repetitive, redundant or just not worth our time.

But for some, AI represents a threat. A threat to jobs, livelihoods, and even the very fabric of our society. For the corporate world, the fear of job market dynamics being reconfigured is a real one.

What this means, according to a report done by US-based firm Gartner Inc, is that at least 1.8 million jobs in the US will be lost by 2020. The interesting thing though – and which not many people are reporting – is that 2.3 million jobs will be created over the same period. That’s 500,000 more jobs by 2020.

So, what type of jobs will these be?

At the core of it, AI is rudimentary at best and will need a lot of help from us for it to even get close to what we as humans are capable of.

This means three main categories of people will be needed: trainers, explainers and sustainers.

Trainers:

Trainers will essentially be tasked with giving AI an understanding of what it means to be human, including learning social dictates like manners, justice and empathy. This is meant to enhance harmony and minimise friction between the tech and the human, and establish an efficient code of conduct that’ll see a lot more being achieved than if either of the two were working alone. These people are expected to come from a sociology or psychology background.

Explainers:

These are the people who’ll basically coach corporates on the pros and cons of the various implementations of AI. They’re expected to walk companies through decision-making, explaining the consequences, benefits and overall effects of taking whatever path a firm intends to take. These people are expected to have an IT background with a good understanding of the legislative, social and environmental aspects of AI deployment.

Sustainers:

AI systems, owing to the fact that they have the ability to assess and change the course of their actions, are in a constant state of flux. This third category of workers will be tasked with making sure that as the systems run, they do so appropriately. They’ll also be tasked with explaining the tech’s inner workings, and ensuring it works in a safe, efficient manner in the long term, making adjustments as needed.