The Effects of Generative AI on Job Markets
Tags: ai, chatgpt, career
Published: 2023-04-13 17:48:38

The recession has recently hit the economy hard, and every primary industry is experiencing a wave of layoffs. There is a lot of panic among people about job prospects.Simultaneously, the recent developments in AI and the improvement in Large Language Models(LLMs) like ChatGPT, Dall-E, etc., have exaggerated this panic and fear. The old stories of AI replacing humans again make it to the headlines.In this blog, I will discuss the significant impacts of AI technologies on the job market.
The impact of these technologies will not be uniform. It will prove more competitive for some roles than others. Broadly, we can classify them into two major categories: low-level and high-level jobs.


Talking about low-level jobs are jobs that focus mainly on the execution of a single, well-defined task. It consists of a fixed cycle of repetitive tasks that, with the help of technological advances, can be automated, thus threatening the employment of those engaged in such jobs. For example, in web development, low-level tasks such as designing a simple website with a bare front end and no primary back end had a lot of scope for freelancing. With the advent of AI, clients can accomplish this independently.


Now let's talk about high-level jobs. These tasks require more sophisticated skills, mainly focused on innovation and critical thinking. Though the latest AI projects have some creativity, it is far away to mimic humans in such domains. Since low-level tasks can now be automated, organizations focus more on hiring individuals to help them innovate, build better products, and provide an edge over their competitors.


LLMs can make a basic front-end by revising the web development scenario discussed earlier. Still, they need help to make a fully customized, functional, and integrated website using advanced tools. So, AI will not be able to replace developers with specialization and expertise in some of the advanced technologies. AI could be even more productive for advanced developers since they can accomplish several low-level tasks in less time, devoting more time and effort to innovative and high-output studies.


Another aspect of this story is whether this technology will be a curse or boon for us ultimately depends on our mindset. Crisis brings along its opportunities. We met with similar skepticism when the Digital and Industrial Revolutions kicked off. In the initial stages, the most novel concepts, like mechanization, mass production, and digitization, were believed to lead to unemployment. Still, instead, they spurred exponential growth, employing a large chunk of the population. They also created a room for innovation that produced life-changing inventions like the World Wide Web, smartphones, search engines, social media platforms, etc., ultimately making our lives easier and better. 

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/iu9hh0xopn3wzu33rfvr.jpg)
Likewise, this revolution of Industry 4.0 also has immense potential. Whether it will be productive or disruptive depends on our mindset and adaptability to change. Change is the only constant in life.


"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he dares to lose sight of the shore."Similarly, one can only grow if one dares to move out of their comfort zones and adapt to change. A crisis presents both a threat as well an opportunity. Some of today's most successful businesses, like Apple, Disney, Ford, etc., were born during points of change like the Digital Revolution, the Great Depression, and the Second World War. The current times also offer similar possibilities, 

As JFK rightly said, "_Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men._" 

So, AI also depends on the mindset and ability to exploit it to our advantage, determining whether it is detrimental or beneficial for us. For some of us, it could help achieve more productivity and better results by automating low-level and time-consuming tasks, whereas, for others who won't learn to adapt to this change, it will take up their jobs.


Another lesson we can learn from this experience is that the tech industry is growing exponentially, and the technologies are coming up and also getting outdated in a short time. So we need to upskill ourselves constantly. It emphasizes the need for lifelong learning and upskilling compared to the previous scenario, where the understanding done during school or college used to work throughout the career. And this aspect is the one which is a significant contributor to such high growth of the industry. Promoting innovative competition provides more growth opportunities and thus leads to rapid advancements.
It is up to us as individuals to use it best.