Bet you’ve been a part of some pretty vehement debate about generative A.I., and what it will do to — or for — the workforce, and humanity.
Take my Pop Quiz:
Which of the following are true?
______I am worried that A.I. may involve profound risks to our jobs and our society.
______I think A.I. has potential to strengthen the US economy.
______I am having conversations about how my organization can use A.I.
______I am trying out A.I. for myself or with my team.
Scoring:
- If you checked statements 1 and/or 2, you are keeping up with A.I. issues.
- If you didn’t check either 3 or 4, you may need to up your game a little. You may find yourself left out or perceived as behind the times.
Scorecard for A.I.: Will it do more harm than good?
A.I. is already being used for a great variety of tasks: preparing for meetings, planning trips, writing grant applications, answering questions to doctors, writing code, determining credit scores, researching and producing reports, news articles, action plans, letters, papers, course outlines, poetry, artwork and videos, etc. The list of uses grows daily.
But…There are many thoughtful critics who are extremely concerned about what A.I. could do to civilization. For example, On March 29, Elon Musk joined 1,000 technology leaders to urge a pause in A.I. citing deep concerns about “profound risks to society“.
What’s your stance toward A.I.?
My friends who think it will be harmful are adamant: they won’t try it. Meantime, plenty of others will, and have. Careers which utilize A.I., like data scientists, robotics engineers, A.I. product managers, machine learning engineers, etc. have been among the fastest-growing over the past 5 years.
Risks of sitting still
Harvard Business School professor Iavor Bojinov offered this observation:
“I expect a bifurcation of the workforce in the near future: individuals who embrace AI to enhance their productivity…and those who resist AI and risk falling behind. The latter group will likely face replacement by their AI-empowered counterparts. Thus the prudent approach for knowledge workers is to harness the potential of AI as a complementary tool, amplifying their capabilities…”
Career moves
For non-A.I. specialists in a wide variety of professional fields, here’s my advice: At least try generative A.I. One way is to go to OpenAI and sign up to try Chat GPT. Or Bing, Bard or MidJourney. Think about or experiment with how A.I. might be used in your organization — or your own job — to increase productivity. Note: it might be best to check with your boss before using it. Organizational policies are changing rapidly.
Another idea: take an online course. For example, check out the very inexpensive courses offered on Udemy. You may generate ideas about how you can use A.I. — or execute new requirements that others develop.
If you are not employed and looking for a job, also think about taking an A.I. course or two. Doing so may enhance your attractiveness to potential employers.
You may even find an A.I.-related job for yourself. As the NYT reported on March 23, “‘Prompt engineering for example, is already a skill that those who play around with ChatGPT long enough can add to their resumes.”
(Don’t know what a prompt engineer does? Here’s an explanation: “Many companies hire prompt engineers to create and adapt prompts to instruct AI models to generate specific text output.” This doesn’t necessarily involve coding; just an ability to think well.)
The future
My point is that few of us can afford to ignore A.I. It will affect almost all careers. As Bill Gates puts it:
“The development of AI is as fundamental as the creation of the microprocessor, the personal computer, the Internet, and the mobile phone. It will change the way people work, learn, travel, get health care, and communicate with each other. Entire industries will reorient around it. Businesses will distinguish themselves by how well they use it.”
In sum, learn and experiment. Don’t drag your feet. Build your skills and your reputation.