How it works

Large-scale layoffs in technology, media, and other industries continue to make people anxious about artificial intelligence (AI) wiping out many jobs in subsequent years. Some tech CEOs have projected that they anticipate 30-50% productivity gains due to AI, which initially made data entry clerks, telemarketers, and customer service representatives wonder how they would compete with an AI agent that is available 24/7 and communicates in dozens of languages.

From a human resources perspective, the biggest concern with AI is whether people will find more or different work to do in the future or whether this technology will displace people altogether. While it is difficult to predict precisely what will happen, a reasonable way to analyze its potential effect is “zooming out” and going back to historical events. The Industrial Revolution, which lasted about 80 years, shifted many jobs to facilities, and specific manual job categories were disrupted and eliminated. However, humanity discovered and crafted a way to continue growing organizations, societies, and individuals. Considering what happened in the U.S. after the end of World War II, every time a new way of innovating got discovered, compensation tends to track alongside them. Therefore, as productivity increases—which is what AI would provide organizations with—employment would also increase, which means new job categories would be created. AI feels more personal because of its current nature, and it is fueled by social media hype everywhere. Unfortunately, it is difficult for many people to understand the similar concerns that many had during previous “revolutions,” such as those created by the introduction of electricity, trains, automated machinery, cars and trucks, and computers.