Employment experts warn which workers are most at risk of being replaced by AI

There's a day coming when AI will take over our jobs - at least that's what the experts say.

When you think of AI swooping into our occupations, you might think of factory floor workers like those in Amazon warehouses.

But those actually most at risk of replacement are those in remote jobs.

This is according to Nicholas Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University who studies remote employment.

'If you think of data entry, call centres, HR, payroll - this kind of thing that's fully remote - a lot of this may be replaced by AI in five to 10 years,' Bloom explained to Bloomberg.

This is a big deal for many of us, especially since the pandemic pushed numerous businesses into remote or hybrid working models.

We've seen huge leaps in AI in recent years (Andriy Onufriyenko / Getty)

Statistically, Bloom noted that fully remote workers represent around 10% of the American and Northern European workforce.

So, what can you do to protect yourself?

Bloom told Business Insider that the best thing you can do is 'be in a role that requires some in-person interaction, even if that's every other month.'

Meeting co-workers, managing or mentoring in person 'every other month creates an activity that AI cannot do.'

But it's not all bad news - especially if you're partially remote.

Hybrid workers who go into an office a few times a week could be more productive with the help of AI, Bloom pointed out.

'For hybrid workers, I don't see in the near term that it's really a threat. If anything, it's maybe supporting that job.'

Economist Nicholas Bloom thinks remote workers are most at risk (Andriy Onufriyenko / Getty)

Those with more room to breathe are workers who work physically laborious jobs or in roles that are 'highly specialised.'

We're only really at the beginning of AI's evolution if you think about it.

OpenAI's generative chatbot program ChatGPT is just over a year old but has already advanced from an average chatbot to creating hyper-realistic pictures and videos and prepping us for job interviews (even with its copyright issues). A lot can happen in five years.

In March, Goldman Sachs released a report saying that AI could impact around 300 million full-time jobs.

However, the study also noted: 'Although the impact of AI on the labour market is likely to be significant, most jobs and industries are only partially exposed to automation and are thus more likely to be complemented rather than substituted by AI.'

So before we look at AI as the enemy it might become more of a friendly co-worker instead of blatantly kicking us out the door.

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