There’s a lot of outcry surrounding AI and how quickly it continues to develop and evolve. We’ve seen a number of claims that AI will replace our jobs or even destroy humanity. While some call these concerns fearmongering, others are less inclined to deny them. And now, the Godfather of AI himself says that AI could indeed replace some jobs.
Despite being known as the “Godfather of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton has been extremely outspoken about the danger that AI poses to humanity. While Hinton hasn’t outright said that AI will be the end of the world, he has warned in the past that AI could overtake humanity if we aren’t careful with it.
AI could replace some jobs
There’s no doubt that AI could replace some jobs, especially as businesses look for ways to cut costs. There are, of course, a lot of arguments about losing the human touch, especially in more creative fields. However, Hinton himself says there are likely some jobs that will be safe from AI, at least for a while.
While speaking on a podcast called The Diary of a CEO on YouTube, Hinton warned that “for mundane intellectual labor, AI is just going to replace everybody.” Of course, by this “mundane intellectual labor” he means things like white-collar jobs. The goal would be to replace ten people with one AI assistant that can do everything a human does, but faster.
We’re already seeing that in some industries, and while I won’t say the outcomes have been exactly great, companies continue to lean into trying to figure out ways to use AI to cut down on costs, which has led to job losses in recent months. For one example, Hinton noted that folks like paralegals could be at serious risk of losing their jobs to AI.
Additionally, he said he would be “terrified” to work in a call center, as those jobs are perfect for automation. In fact, we’ve seen more and more companies turn to automated systems for handling telephone jobs like paying bills, troubleshooting basic issues, etc.
AI won’t be able to do some jobs, at least for a while
However, Hinton said that there are some jobs AI won’t be able to replace any time soon. “I’d say it’s going to be a long time before AI is as good at physical manipulation,” he noted in the podcast. As such, he recommended that anyone worried about losing their job to AI start training in blue-collar jobs, like being a plumber or another trade.
The Godfather of AI also challenged the notion that AI would create new jobs, saying that if AI is automated to handle intellectual tasks, then it will leave few jobs for people to pick up.
Instead, Hinton said you’d have to be exceptionally skilled to do a job that AI can’t do. Of course, some reports note that entry-level jobs have become increasingly difficult to acquire, as AI is replacing many of those positions. So, Hinton may be onto something here. With more companies trying to implement AI, it does raise concerns about AI replacing humans.
For now, it seems Hinton thinks blue-collar jobs are the best way to hedge your bets for long-term employment. Whether you want to take him up on that opinion or not, though, is entirely up to you.
