We Asked an AI Which Tech Jobs Will Be Replaced by AI

The day started with formulating an article. As common as any workday, I began writing a piece regarding staffing information, putting together all available information, and curating our professional opinion. The article at hand involved which tech jobs could (or will) be replaced by AI in the future. But, to my chagrin as both a writer and intellectual, the idea fell flat. After writing a couple of hundred words, I realized that the topic was not only stale but impossible to pinpoint. How do we know which jobs could be replaced by AIs in the future?

Then, like a metaphorical lightbulb inside my organic brain, I got the idea: why not ask the metaphysical? Why not go to the source? Why not delve into the cyber realm, matrices, and digits, and ask the AI itself?

With nervous fingers and interested eyes, I logged on to the most popular artificial intelligence to ask it a few questions and try to find an understanding of the future of AI work (among other things).

So, grab your popcorn. If you are in the metaverse, grab your digital popcorn. We asked an AI which tech jobs will be replaced by AIs, and we were not disappointed.

Why Even Do This?

Firstly, I’m a tail-end millennial. The nuclear sequence from Terminator 2: Judgment Day has been imprinted in my brain as an over-arching warning of the dangers of technology. The octopus-like machines from The Matrix still give me frights. Us 90s survivors have been warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence since our inception. Though the idea was burned by pop culture and media, it wasn’t entirely far-fetched. Even Elon Musk is on record speaking of the terrifying dangers of AI.

Musk noted in an interview with Fox News, “AI is more dangerous than, say, mismanaged aircraft design or production maintenance or bad car production, in the sense that it is, it has the potential — however small one may regard that probability, but it is non-trivial — it has the potential of civilization destruction.”

So, if Elon Musk and James Cameron think artificial intelligence is scary, there’s something rightly-placed about the fear.

Why did you do this, then?

One, it was an interesting idea used to spruce up an already-existing article we had created. We still looked to discuss jobs an AI could take over in the future. It makes that topic more fun.

Two, it’s interesting to ask the source. Though not sentient, an AI has the ability to see the forest through the trees due to an amassing of infinite opinions. In a way, it’s easier than searching the internet for what jobs everyone else thinks AI will overtake. It knows better than we know, truly.

Thirdly, it was fun to chat with someone, even just an AI. Which, in its own right, is terrifying.

Which AI Did You Use?

AI has become all the rage due to its infinite possibilities and existential-raising base. Tech nerds downright adore it and its endless infrastructure. Therefore, there is a ton on the market.

We decided to run this experiment with ChatGPT, the current most-popular AI chat software out there.

To give a colloquial definition, ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology developed by OpenAI and released in November 2022. It is referred to as a ‘Chatbot’ and allows users to ask it questions and speak to it directly. It then formulates lightning-fast responses based on an accumulation of all available information.

Musk called the AI “scary good,” and an analysis by Swiss bank UBS claimed it is the fastest-growing app of all time. The Twitter for ChatGPT amassed over a million followers within 5 days of launching.

So, if you are going to run any experiment based on a chatbot, ChatGPT seems like the obvious option.

Therefore, I threw on my 3D glasses and leather outfit and hit the app, waiting impatiently for a detailed response.

And boy, did we get one.

Side note: ChatGPT required signing up for purposes of sharing news and reviews of the current research and feedback-collection phase of the app. It also required your birthdate. And while I trust the intentions of OpenAI, I have to be skeptical of the AI itself. Now it has my information. If it ever goes on a Terminator-like rampage, I am somewhere on its list (though probably at the very bottom).

Our Conversation:

Firstly, we won’t paste the entire transcript, but break down and quote what the AI said and how I responded (both physically and emotionally).

Overall, the conversation was fairly one-sided. ChatGPT is obviously infinitely smarter than me, so attempting to have a back-and-forth seemed both daunting and insulting. And none of us want to insult ChatGPT (aha).

So, after pleasantries, we asked ChatGPT, “I’m looking to write an article about what tech jobs will be replaced by AIs. What do you think?”

Do You Agree?

Interestingly enough, I had 4 out of these 5 jobs on my original list for the original Which Tech Jobs Will Be Replaced by an AI. Therefore, it’s impossible for me to argue the positions it chose.

The only job I had that it didn’t was Graphic Design. For, we have seen a rise in AI-generated art over the past year. It’s only a matter of time before companies begin using AI to create their original designs, making life for artists terrifying.

The only job it had that I didn’t was IT Operations. I believe this to be a bit broader than what we were originally going for. We initially said jobs like Help Desk and Service Desk Support, but we suppose these can fall directly into the IT Operations category, especially if used in conjunction with end users.

Score one for ChatGPT. They had more inquisitive responses here than we did.

It Didn’t Stop There, Though

Ultimately, that wasn’t the end of ChatGPT’s response. It continued by noting that it doesn’t believe it can do these jobs exactly like a human worker would. And, interestingly, we were going to delve into this in the original article as well.

Do You Agree?

Part of me believes it is just saying this to play coy. It knows it can do its job better than me. The Terminator didn’t get where he did without an astounding amount of confidence. Right?

Jokes aside, this is the original point we planned on making in our article. At its core, an AI can only create something based on creations and data of the past. That’s its nature. Therefore, it’s theoretically impossible for it to come up with an original idea. It can amalgamate a bunch of things to create something that never has been made before, but it’s still an amalgamation of the past.

Though, it’s arguable that that’s what we do as humans, too.

For example, customer service can never be replaced by AI. AI cannot emit emotion (yet), meaning it can’t hold empathy. Customer service without empathy will only upset already irate customers. No good.

Lastly, its final point is important. While the World Economic Forum said that 85 million jobs will be eliminated, and 97 million new ones created thanks to AI by 2025. It’s crucial to note that those new jobs are AI-related.

It may create new jobs for AI-based IT workers, but it still eliminates jobs that it overtakes. For example, if one of those 85 million jobs lost is customer service representatives, AI won’t create a new job for customer service experts. If they don’t also have knowledge of AI tech, those 97 million new jobs mean nothing.

Does AI Think It’s a Good Idea to Replace Jobs?

As noted, AI doesn’t hold the ability for ethics, but we had to try. I also asked this in order to prod, attempting to see if there was an inkling of sentience down in there. If so, I would retire and live in the wilderness like a hermit afraid of a cellphone.

Luckily, ChatGPT started by noting it doesn’t have opinions (sure).

We asked it, “Do you think it’s a good thing to replace humans in these positions?”

Side Note: I would like to say that I had to proofread some of ChatGPT’s writing. Though minor, there were a few grammatical mistakes. Therefore, I am better at English than an AI.

Do You Agree?

The negatives listed are the ones we already touched on in the last section. AI jobs would eliminate normal jobs, though creating a multitude of jobs surrounding AI. Creativity and empathy are also impossible to emulate, lowering art-based success and customer service interactions.

Because I am writing this in real-time, it may seem like we worked ahead of the AI by noting these exact ideas in the last section. That is not the case. We were just on the same page, for the negatives of AI jobs are pretty obvious. A 2022 study by Blumberg Capital found that 43% of consumers believe the use of AI will spark an increase in customer complaints. We are all in agreement that an AI cannot complete the most important part of customer service, emotional understanding.

The positives are also pretty obvious. Increased speed, efficiency, and accessibility are the main draws for companies to implement AI systems. They don’t have to be paid, they can work around the clock, and they won’t make human errors.

Until they become sentient, that is.

At the end of the day, ChatGPT stated pretty generic answers here. I was hoping for something a bit more thought-provoking. But the idea of expecting thought-provoking from an AI is thought-provoking in its own right. Right?

Do You Think You Can Replace My Job?

Look, I had to ask.

12% of businesses use AI for content creation. 44% of businesses use AI technologies to lower operational costs. As a content writer, AI scares me. Moreso than just the joking fear of world domination. AI writers could take my job.

And, if your career was listed in the aforementioned list of AI jobs, you would ask it the same thing.

“Do you think you can replace my job as a content writer?”

Do You Agree?

Ultimately, it’s the same idea as graphic design earlier. When it comes to creativity and art, AI can never exceed a human. At its nature, art is used to provoke emotions in other humans. If an AI doesn’t feel emotion, it can’t emit emotion upon others. Therefore, while breaking news articles may be in danger of AI replacement, fiction, interviews, and emotional pieces will always be safe.

To the second point, AI tools are useful for writing help. It does help to have something on your side that can scour the entirety of the internet for keyword research or grammatical help (though I fixed some of ChatGPT’s grammar).

But, The AI Did Write for Me

Now for the existential and ironic part of the whole experiment.

I can say that an AI will never overcome human writers, leaving my job both safe and cushiony. But, didn’t the AI technically write this article for me? Without the AI, the entire concept of this article wouldn’t be possible. How many words in this piece are written by the AI? How many by me? 50/50?

Technically, the AI did do my job for me today. Technically, AI could take over writing jobs. Or, to my dystopian fear, writing the articles and forcing humans to put in emotional points, fulfilling the only thing it cannot do. In this, the AI writes the entire article but gets the missing piece from a human, completing what the AI can’t.

Which… Is exactly what happened here. The AI gave out the actual information and I, the writer,
gave the human experience, emotion, and opinion on the topic (what it can’t add).
Thus meaning, it made me complete the part it couldn’t and took the credit for the entire thing.

I need a second…

A longer second…

Whew. Okay.

What Makes Tier2Tek Staffing the Best Staffing Agency In the United States?

For the last question, I had to ask the one we are all thinking. We had to clear the air and input a little self-promotion.

Overall, we wanted to see what it could pull about our staffing agency. What would it say when asked to both rank and describe a specific business in the heart of Denver?

Do You Agree?

Of course, we agree.

Overall, this is pretty standard information and flavor text we use on our site. Though we have never said we use a high-touch approach, it makes sense. We stand by and pride ourselves on giving all of our clients attention, care, and max effort. We look to get to know your company and work culture before we recruit, helping find the perfect match.

Because this is our favorite selling point, ChatGPT noting it proves that we are displaying it well (kudos to me).

We also have great reviews, so that makes sense.

Conclusion

What an interesting, terrifying, and eye-opening experience.

All in all, not only did we both figure out and note what tech jobs may be replaced by AI in the future, we proved that it can do those jobs well. It may never have the full human array of emotions and expressions, but it can make up for it with speed and accessibility.

Do we believe that AI will overtake all tech jobs? No. Human decision will always be necessary for tech work and creation.

Will it overtake some? Probably. It is much cheaper and more efficient, which will always play a positive factor with large businesses.

Is it something to fear? No. AI will take jobs, but it will also create many. This won’t destroy the industry but will change it drastically. Something that has been happening in the tech sector since the tech sector existed.

There were probably people that were afraid the internet would take jobs, too. Look how that went.