I Want AI to Take Your Job | Issue #8
This is not clickbait or designed to hurt your feelings
6 MINS READ
I just ate a sumptuous plate of garri and okra soup, and as I sat to write this, I wondered if a bot could ever cook like my Mom.
Then, I got the answer.
Never.
Mummy’s meals will remain the last shred of human uniqueness, even if AI learns to imitate all we do.
In this issue, I will attempt to justify a ravenous fear (or, concern) making the rounds as AI advances and I think you’ll like it.
Happy reading.
We are witnessing the biggest AI tide ever. Since OpenAI launched its viral chatbot, ChatGPT, putting practical AI into the hands of virtually everyone, the tidal wave of AI has been rolling.
Every week seems to be a big announcement day.
A dizzying array of new models and products for generating text, images, audio and even video have been launched in the past few months that I don’t think I have much space for acronyms and GPT portmanteaus in my head anymore.
Tech behemoths like Google, Microsoft and Meta are locked in a competition as turgid as the arms race. The big guys are spinning wheels, hiring with frenzy and throwing huge chunks of money at AI startups and projects.
Everyone can feel that we are at the verge of something momentous for humanity, or rather, that we are on it already. The seams of society seem stretched as we grapple with questions of an age that we only imagined but seems to have come too soon.
Generative AI is raising questions, from as problematic as “Who is really the creator of an AI image?” to as pertinent as, “What really is creativity?”.
As creators pile lawsuits to pull the rug from under large AI models and people prepare for a world where work is reimagined fundamentally, I am writing to make a case for AI.
Rewinding
The Industrial Revolution was one of the most important periods in the development of human civilization. It was a time when one huge steaming machine did as much work as ten men.
As smoke billowed into the clouds from the chimneys and vents of new factories, some of the questions we grapple with today, were thrust in the faces of the people of that time.
Unsurprisingly, at that time too, there was a group of people who machines pissed off. These guys were unhappy that machines were doing the same jobs that people used to do. In their anger, they went around destroying them. They were called the Luddites
Today, although I haven’t heard of mobs setting fire to AI chips and supercomputers, people who advocate a return to pre-AI are called neo-Luddites. Neo-Luddites fear a world where “AI will take their jobs” and are bracing to ensure it doesn’t happen.
The truth is: the job marketplace has always been evolving and job displacement is nothing new. A closer analysis, I believe, will introduce a shift in perspective about this topic.
Moving forward
Think about this: Did we have data scientists, cinematographers and influencers a hundred years ago?
During the Industrial Revolution, people used to pay “human alarm clocks” to rap at their windows in the morning to wake them for work. Today, we all have alarm clocks in our phone.
Well, I haven’t heard anybody weep that digital alarm clocks have taken the jobs of those “human alarm clocks”.
So, will AI take some of our jobs?
There is one easy way to answer this oft-repeated question. (Or, statement)
Yes. And an emphatic yes.
And it is not the first time.
In history, as civilization has developed, jobs have been erased.
For example, before cars, there was a huge carriage industry.
There were horse breeders, farmers who grew and sold horse feed, blacksmiths who built and repaired the carriages, horse riders, landowners who built and managed stables and so on.
What happened to the horse and carriage industry when Carl Benz built the first car or when Henry Ford perfected the automobile assembly line?
Wiped. Erased. Replaced.
With car manufacturers, assemblers, drivers, garages, etc.
Think of all the labor that goes into the making and managing of one car. Millions of jobs.
From the refinery that produces engine oil, petrol and plastic, to the guys who smelt the iron (for body parts, electrical wires, etc.), the guys who extract rubber (for the tires), the guys on the assembly line, and all the mechanics and dealers and Bolt drivers and car review YouTube channels.
All of these jobs would not exist if we had not accepted the technology of the car.
AI will make certain jobs obsolete.
But the good news is, (and you know this very, very well now) new jobs are always created.
Some jobs we had yesterday do not exist anymore today. We also have several jobs that didn’t exist in the past now.
As you may have observed from the predictions I presented in the last two issues, there will be a massive demand for developers, consultants, data scientists, teachers, lawyers and so on.
Now, I am not saying that we will all have to work in the AI industry; humans will always be needed to do one more task or the other and we will fill that gap.
And for the most part, you won’t really be replaced by AI; you will be replaced by someone who knows how to use it.
This is because AI is designed to serve as a tool, to function in tandem with humans, not usurp control.
What should you do?
AI is the hottest skill on the planet.
It is also one of those emerging fields of technology that is almost mainstream and shows the most potential of mass, democratized adoption. I think what anyone alive in 2023 should do is learn how to use AI tools relevant to their interests, keep up with news updates, and augment themselves ahead of everyone else.
Because, the lay-offs and sacks are coming strong. Solid skills will surely make you priced either in entrepreneurship or in the corporate setting.
I want progress for humanity and I also ardently believe that we are more than what is written on our job descriptions.
Systems and tools will always reveal gaps that human uniqueness and creatvity will fill.
They say the best time to learn AI was yesterday. Well, the next best time is now and here.
I am working on diving balls-deep into more and better AI content by launching a new AI-centric newsletter or as a section on this one. I value your feedback and I’ll start receiving opt-ins to the waitlist soon.
For Sunday’s Deep Dive, tell me in what area you want AI’s help; could be for writing, marketing or whatever, and I’ll explore your use case in detail.
Thank you for reading today’s issue. Share if you liked it.
With love & ink,
Emmanuel,