With the rise of ChatGPT, are fears of AI taking over jobs valid?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the subject of great interest for scientists and ‘ordinary’ people alike for decades. Picture: Pexels

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the subject of great interest for scientists and ‘ordinary’ people alike for decades. Picture: Pexels

Published Jan 25, 2023

Share

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been the subject of great interest for scientists and ‘ordinary’ people alike for decades. But unlike past years, the sector has recently seen incredible growth.

However, some people still have reservations about AI, especially when it comes to jobs. The potential of being replaced by robots in certain fields has been a cause of anxiety for many, with science fiction fanning the flames with shows like “Black Mirror”.

Recently, ChatGPT has been all the rage. This is a chatbot that employs deep learning techniques to generate text and dialogues that can fool almost anyone into believing they were authored by a real human.

Does this mean jobs such as content creation, marketing, copy writing and even journalism are at risk? Well, it is still early days as there is not enough data about ChatGPT.

However, a survey conducted by Tidio on 1200 people’s general attitude towards AI revealed the following:

  • Almost 69% of college graduates believe AI will take their work or make it obsolete in the next several years.
  • Cashiers, drivers, and translators are among the positions that are most likely to be automated.
  • People are seven times more worried about the negative impact of AI on the job market than fair treatment of robots.

However, you can also use ChatGPT to enhance your chances of landing a job. A Tiktok user demonstrated how you can stop the hassle of having to write different cover letters for multiple jobs by simply instructing the bot to write them for you.

Owned by OpenAI and Microsoft, the companies are seeking to monetise this ChatGPT. The commercial version will reportedly be called ChatGPT Professional.

According to research undertaken by a professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, the artificial intelligence-driven chatbot was able to pass the school’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme’s final test.

ChatGPT has become mainstream and is gaining more popularity. CBS News reported that Jeff Maggioncalda, the CEO of online course provider Coursera, uses the bot like a member of his executive team.

‘’I ask ChatGPT to become aware of where my biases and blind spots might be, and the answers it gives are a really, really good starting point to check your thinking,’’ Maggioncalda told CBS.

He was also reported saying that the technology allows him to be more analytical in his approach to business difficulties, as well as look at topics from perspectives other than his own.

Maggioncalda told CBS that he entered the following prompt at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland: ‘’What should I consider while giving a speech to prime ministers at Davos?’’

IOL Business