The Future of Work: Finding Jobs Amidst Automation and AI
The future of work isn’t that uncertain these days, with the evolution of automation and artificial intelligence, human intervention seems to be faded. But will humans be removed from the job equation? Not necessarily.
In the past, we’ve lived in similar situations to this one today. Back then, we were as scared and concerned as we are now about our jobs. After the Industrial Revolution, so many jobs were lost to automation, people were worried that humans would no longer be useful in the London job market. This automation happened to all of those mechanic and repetitive jobs like transcription or farming.
However, humans didn’t disappear from the work equation, they just migrated to different areas. This could be the same situation now, the only difference is that the speed of the automation revolution is faster now, and we must be prepared.
In this guide, you’ll find some of the most meaningful impacts that we’ll have in the future of work that will revolutionise tech jobs we know today.
Remote Working
The trend of remote working is something we’re already experiencing, and the COVID-19 outbreak has accelerated the trend. According to a Gartner's recent report, 74% of Chief Financial Officers (CFO) are considering changing the dynamic of their company to cater for a remote work modality after the coronavirus lockdown. This can give you some insights into the level of importance of remote jobs in London in the future of work.
The same Gartner analysis revealed that 48% of employees would be working remotely after the pandemic. In comparison to the 30% of the remote work trend that we had before the coronavirus outbreak, this is a large number of people in the global workforce.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already taking over most of the tech industry. However, this trend will only grow over the next few years. What it means is that we’ll have more machines that will simulate our work, and most of our tasks might be automated. Some of the most vulnerable professions are the ones that require redundant activities such as logistics or transportation. In a world with automated cars, there won’t be a need for drivers, so this figure of the workforce might disappear.
However, not everything in the future is grey. There will be people that benefit from this trend because their job will be more efficient, and they’ll be able to focus more on other priorities that require analytical thinking.
Quantum Computing
Quantum computers promise to change the way we process data, communicate, and it will create a significant impact in many areas of our world. Quantum computing works with more versatility than regular computers.
While regular computers work with bits of “0” and “1”, quantum computers work with something called “superpositioning” meaning that its unit called Qubits are binary; they can be “0” or “1” at the same time. This versatility allows it to simulate the nature of our world, which can be unpredictable.
Some of the applications of quantum computing can be used in pharmaceutical, financial, environmental industries. It can even be used in the stock market. Quantum computing can simulate better molecules than a regular computer; that’s why they would help create cures faster than we’ve never seen before.
Once quantum computers become more commonly used, there will be thousands of administrative jobs that will be lost because of it. However, the same quantum computing industry will generate more jobs that require analytical thinking.
Human Employment
Although the landscape looks negative for us so far, it won’t mean that we won’t be necessary for the future of work. There are activities that a computer will never be able to simulate: our empathy and compassion.
In the future of work, there will still be jobs that require these two abilities, such as teaching jobs, nursing, and news reporting. Also, the job of a lawyer will not be automated because representing a person requires these two abilities.
In Conclusion
The future of work might sound frightening to many people, especially those who think that they’ll lose their jobs. But it is just a matter of transformation and revolution. We’ve already lived through this before, and we’ve created new paths we can take to continue to be a part of the work field.
Brian Kropp, chief of research for the Gartner HR practice, once said: “Business leaders must understand the large-scale shifts that are changing how people work and how business gets done. Then, they must apply this knowledge to their specific organisation so they can alter their strategy accordingly.”