Artificial Intelligence could affect 70% of UK Jobs!

Upwards of 70% of tasks done by human workers soon could be performed by machines. This shift could affect not only factory and retail workers, but cooks, waiters and others in food services, as well as short-haul truck drivers and even clerical office workers. The people that will be most affected are those working in manual or repetitive jobs.

What AI Means for Jobs

Just as the machinery didn’t kill the British textile industry, and in fact created new opportunities, there is the argument that AI actually could improve the lot of modern employees.

The auto industry is a good example where AI, robots and computerised systems are nicely integrated with human workers. While it is an attractive option to human labour, there will always be a need to supervise, check, maintain and program these technologies, which will generate higher-level jobs. Depending on the sector, you will see various forms of AI and robotics in verticals such as healthcare and manufacturing.

The Skill Factor

There is also the argument to be made that even those replaced by AI or robots might have opportunities to acquire new skills. Retraining workers displaced by automation or AI will be absolutely necessary as we move forward, particularly for those in mid-career.

This task of retraining and encouraging life-long learning will have to be undertaken by a number of different stakeholders, including the government — particularly at the state and local level — as well as the companies themselves that are introducing increasing levels of AI and automation into their organisation.

In some cases, where jobs are displaced by AI and automation, those forces could lead to the creation of new jobs and even careers. Many of these jobs we haven’t even conceived of yet. Those at the beginning of their career will be able to learn these new skills and transition into these new careers, but many at the mid-career level will need retraining programs to break into these emerging fields. Workers shouldn’t wait for their jobs to be replaced but should take advantage of all opportunities to get retrained or to acquire new skills.

Filling Unfillable Jobs

AI also could help fill openings in some industries where there simply aren’t enough workers. This is certainly true in the tech world, notably in IT and cyber security, where there is now a High skills shortage. It’s been estimated that by 2021, there will be 3 million openings in cyber security.

Retraining workers to fill those positions isn’t an option, but AI and machine learning could take some of the burden off overstretched IT departments. Enterprise IT organisations are increasingly embracing AI technologies to address the cyber security skills gap that they are struggling with.

In fact, it’s been projected that there will be 3.5 million unfilled cyber security jobs within the next couple of years, so it appears that AI is not taking away jobs at all. On the contrary, AI and other intelligent technologies are filling the skills gap by automating many of the manual tasks that normally would be done by a human. Since humans with those skills are unavailable in sufficient numbers, machines need to fill the void.

AI to Retain Workers

The other end of the spectrum for AI is in how it could be used by employers to help retain workers, especially in a tight job market. AI is now being used by HR departments as a tool to help employers know if employees are thinking about leaving their respective position.

One example is IBM, which has replaced about 30% of its HR staff with AI. In this case it actually is to help retain existing skilled workers, not to replace them with AI, but to ensure that valuable talent doesn’t jump ship.

The HR AI was designed to help employees identify opportunities for new skills training, education, job promotions and raises. In other words, AI can predict why employees may be thinking of seeking greener pastures elsewhere. By addressing these issues, IBM can keep its workforce intact whether by adding a new skill or promoting a deserving worker.

One component of this is through the tracking of social media posts that can indicate levels of happiness in ways that a human might not see. AI can find patterns and determine if an employee is considering a job switch.

AI is actually made up of four layers; and this includes a sensing layer where it can sense about an employee’s mood or feelings. This can be a measure of motivation for example. From sensing you can learn, and then you can decide based on what you’ve learned to determine how you’ll act.

AI also could be used to aid in the recruiting process, but its use to retain or hire employees could come with ethical conundrums.

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