ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: JOB KILLER OR JUST THE LATEST GREAT REPLACEMENT THEORY
As the world continues to grapple with the rise of AI and its impact on jobs and the economy, one CEO has come out in defense of in-person work. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna claims that working from home could be detrimental to career growth, stating that "moving from there to another role is probably less likely because nobody’s observing them in another context." Well, excuse me, Mr. Krishna, but I don't need someone watching me in order to grow my career. I can do that all on my own, thank you very much.
But as employees return to the office, they may find themselves working alongside a new type of colleague: robots. Yes, you read that right. Robots. And not the cool, futuristic kind that we all imagined growing up. No, these are the kind that are coming for our jobs. In fact, Krishna plans to issue a hiring freeze for roles that can be done by robots instead. He specifically mentioned back-office roles, stating that "I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by A.I. and automation over a five-year period," resulting in about 7,800 jobs cut.
Now, I don't know about you, but I don't want to work alongside a robot. I mean, what kind of water cooler talk would we have? "Hey, did you catch the latest episode of Westworld?" "No, I was too busy processing data and analyzing spreadsheets." Yeah, real exciting stuff.
But some CEOs, like JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon and Twitter's Elon Musk, are staunch advocates of a return to the office. They believe that in-person work is essential for mentorship, career opportunities, and greater productivity. And I have to admit, they do have a point. I mean, how else am I supposed to network and make connections? Certainly not through LinkedIn. That place is a cesspool.
However, there is a difference between a job and a career. Jefferies CEO Rich Handler noted in an Instagram post last year that the difference could be up to where you do your work. "If you want a job, stay remote all the time and be efficient in a very limited way," Handler wrote. "If you want a career, engage with the rest of us in the office and use WFH only when flexibility is essential, mental health calls, and life balance needs help." So basically, if you want to be a drone, stay at home. But if you want to be a boss, come into the office.
But let's not forget about the elephant in the room: AI job killers. The idea that AI will completely replace human jobs is a common concern, but it is important to note that the impact of AI on the job market is complex and multifaceted. While some jobs may be automated, AI can also create new job opportunities and lead to more efficient and productive work. So basically, it's a double-edged sword. On one hand, we may lose our jobs. But on the other hand, we may get even cooler jobs. Like robot wrangler or cyborg therapist.
Ultimately, it is important for individuals and organizations to adapt to the changing job market and to continuously develop new skills and knowledge in order to remain competitive and successful in the age of AI. So if you're worried about losing your job to a robot, just remember: there's always a new job out there waiting for you. And who knows? Maybe you'll even get to work alongside a cool robot like R2-D2 or WALL-E.
IBM’s CEO says we ‘work better when we are together’ on the same week he announced plans to cut all jobs that A.I. can do https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ibm-ceo-says-better-together-184941229.html?