Headlines have been ablaze about the proliferation of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, many predicting the new tech will replace workers in various fields. As many as 300 million jobs worldwide could be affected, according to a recent Goldman Sachs report.
But it turns out many in the C-suite have other plans. A majority, 64% of C-suite leaders say they will hire more workers as a result of generative AI, according to a new study of 1,400 U.S. business leaders by work marketplace Upwork.
“I think that was a bit surprising, given all the doom and gloom we’ve seen in terms of potential job loss and displacement,” says Kelly Monahan, managing director of Upwork’s research institute. Turns out “the C-suite is seeing this as an augmentation play” and a way to help workers become more productive as opposed to an excuse to reduce jobs, she says.
Here’s why experts believe generative AI isn’t replacing millions of workers anytime soon.
‘You can’t really automate the entire job’
To begin with, though the capabilities of tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft 365 Copilot are vast, they’re still limited in terms of their ability to fill many roles.
“You can’t really automate the entire job or task because of this tool,” says Monahan. “You can automate parts of it and or accelerate the efficiency of the workforce as part of it.” ChatGPT might help an HR worker write a report but it can’t assess job candidates for cultural fit in a company.
Ultimately, while these tools can currently “make individual workers more productive,” says Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, they can’t replace them altogether.
New jobs include ‘AI artist, AI researchers, deep learning engineers’
With leadership at many companies realizing the potential for workers to work more efficiently given these tools, many industries are creating jobs for those who know how to implement them. Industries Upwork has seen create new AI-focused roles include business and professional services, software and technology, media and telecommunications and financial services.
“The actual specific jobs that we’re seeing on our platform right now are AI artist, AI researchers, deep learning engineers, AI chatbot developers, AI writers,” says Monahan, adding that “we are seeing a really big demand” in roles that lean into generative AI.
Job list sites are seeing a hike in demand for AI-oriented or enabled positions as well. For example, there’s huge demand for AI engineers, says Pollak. “Newspapers are hiring writers who can figure out ways to create a lot of content using generative AI. Advertisers are looking for people who can figure out ways to use these tools.”
‘There may be periods in time where [generative AI tools] do reduce jobs’
While this particular point in the labor market’s history is introducing a slew of new jobs, experts agree no one knows for sure what will happen in the future.
At some point down the line, “there may be periods in time where [generative AI tools] do reduce jobs, do replace workers,” says Pollak.
“But typically, very disruptive technologies like this that result in huge productivity and efficiency gains dramatically transform the way work happens in ways that we can’t even imagine,” she says. “And those create new roles and new opportunities and new products and new markets that didn’t exist before.”
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