Artificial intelligence is talent, skills, and HR strategy.
According to a new paper estimating the effects of artificial intelligence on the labour market, most workers will see their workplace affected if they work in manual jobs.
What's happening?
All of the artificial intelligence systems seem to have exploded into the mainstream. Up to 80% of US jobs will be affected by GPT for at least 10% of their daily tasks according to a new study.
More than 20% of workers could see at least 50% of their daily tasks impacted, often degree-level jobs that are higher paid across all industries.
The paper states that the impacts of LLMs are likely to be pervasive. Even if we stop the development of new capabilities today, the economic effect of LLMs will continue to grow.
Why does it matter?
Nearly half of companies are drafting policies on the use of technology at work, according to a recent survey. Coca-Cola has integrated some of the technology into their work.
Accountability and truth are just a few of the questions the tech wants us to consider. The structure of societies and economies will be affected when we begin to automate traditionally well-paid jobs.
There are more mundane lessons to be learned. The skills of scientific or critical thinking are more likely to retain their worth than the skills of writing or image making. The copy and artwork of advertising may be quicker to produce, but the critical thinking and problem-solving that leads to it is more likely to be a competitive advantage.
There are some interesting findings in this research. The low exposure to GPT-ification of graphic design is a notable question mark. The nature and substance of creativity may be reconsidered.
The tasks of processing information and data will look very different in the future. Deep change is likely to occur in industries that don't require physical work.
There is a method.
The United States has an O*NET database that standardizes the descriptions of 1,016 occupations. If a GPT-powered system is able to complete the task in at least 50% of the time, it will be considered a success. The authors acknowledge that it is not perfect and that most jobs are not simply collections of separate tasks. OpenAI is now commercialising these systems.
There were findings.
- Safe skills: Jobs that require scientific and critical thinking skills are negatively associated with exposure, suggesting they are less likely to be affected.
- Skills under threat: Jobs that require programming and writing skills are more likely to be affected by large language models.
- Education: ‘Individuals holding Bachelor’s, Master’s, and professional degrees are more exposed to GPTs and GPT-powered software than those without formal educational credentials’.
- Industries: At an industry level, information processing, publishing, insurance and data industries are highly exposed, while manufacturers of food, wood products, and support activities for agriculture and forestry are minimally exposed.
There are occupations with high exposure.
- Web and digital interface designers
- Mathematicians
- Climate change policy analysts
- Financial quantitative analysts
- Accountants
- News analysts, reporters, journalists
The O*NET database contains occupations that may be of interest to WARC readers.
- Public relations specialists: 66.7% exposure
- Survey researchers: 75% exposure
- Creative writers (along with poets and lyricists): 68% exposure
- Search marketing strategists: 14.5% exposure
- Graphic designers: 13.4% exposure
- Writers: 82.5% exposure
There are occupations with no exposure.
- Athletes
- Stonemasons
- Slaughterers and meat packers
- Dishwashers
- Cooks
- Waiters and bartenders
Openai, UPenn, and Coca-Cola are the sources.
