Microsoft study exposes jobs least likely to be taken over by AI
The popularity and rapid development of artificial intelligence over the past few years has seen certain tasks become a lot easier to automate than before, yet that has spelled bad news for certain roles as mass redundancies have already hit many across the nation.
Where some have seen their jobs become 'easier' with the advent of AI software, others have witnessed their roles become redundant and replaced completely with the automated technology, leaving many fearful for a future plagued by mass unemployment.
Influential figures haven't exactly helped to dampen those worries either, as many have expressed that only a handful of jobs will 'survive' the AI revolution — even if in the eyes of some that will lead to an almost utopian world where nobody has to work anymore.
Some positions are definitely safer than others right now though, and a new study conducted by tech giant Microsoft has revealed a select number of jobs that are least likely to be replaced by AI — at least for the time being.
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As shared by UNILAD, the study analyzed over 200,000 conversations held with its own AI, Microsoft Autopilot, transposing that to data from the Department of Labor in reference to certain types of work.
"We found that AI is most useful for tasks related to knowledge work and communication, particularly tasks such as writing, gathering information, and learning," the study estimates, which isn't great news for anyone in a creative-adjacent job.
"On the flip side, it's not surprising that physical tasks like performing surgeries or moving objects had less direct AI chatbot applicability," it continues, outlining five roles in particular that should be safe:
- Phlebotomists
- Nursing assistants
- Hazardous materials removal workers
- Skilled manual labor
- Embalmers
It's not surprising that there's a number of medical roles in the list above, especially considering the regulatory and ethical concerns that involving AI would cause, but these in particular involve skill and precision that AI – at least right now – is incapable of enacting.
Phlebotomists, for example, have trained for years to ensure that veins are found and blood is drawn with precision, and the prospect of letting a robot stab you isn't exactly appealing to many.
However, there does remain the possibility that technology could be developed that would provide even greater precision than humans with the help of ultrasound, so even that's not safe forever.
The same idea is true for jobs that involve the removal of hazardous materials, as while having an autonomous robot would eliminate the danger to human workers, we can't trust non-human entities to do this essential job correctly right now, and any mistakes would have significant consequences.
The unpredictable future of AI leaves no job truly 'safe' though, but if you're wanting to stave off the threat for as long as possible, it might be a good idea to shift your career into something a little more physical.