Developer reveals five jobs that are safe from AI takeover as Elon Musk issues disturbing warning
Looking for a job which is more likely to guarantee employment after the AI apocalypse? Here are some sectors to look into.
The topic of AI and how quickly it may, or may not, take over our lives was thrust into public consciousness over the weekend after Elon Musk sat down with The Economist's editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, to discuss the topic, with the Tesla founder promising that artificial intelligence would usher in 'an age of amazing abundance'.
"I think AI may exceed the sum of human intelligence in roughly five years," he told Minton Beddoes. "There really won't be anything that AI can't do better than humans apart from being human, perhaps.
"The future is going to be very, very different from the past. There’s no analogy or metaphor that I think illustrates the magnitude of change that we’re going to experience here."
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In Musk's envisioned utopia, he also claimed that money would no longer matter by the year 2036, as we all kicked back and enjoyed our infinite free time – as long as killer robots don't wipe out humanity.
While Musk appears optimistic about the future, which is pretty easy when you're the richest man in the world, the rest of us are left wondering about how we'll make ends meet in an increasingly limited job market filled with AI robots and chatbots.
The five jobs most likely to survive an AI takeover
If you're looking to get a head start and begin training to enter a sector which is more likely to be AI-proof, numerous experts have weighed in on the sectors they believe will remain reliant on humans.
One person to have shared his thoughts on the topic is Anik Devaughn, founder and CEO of Wired to Create in Stockholm, who believes just five jobs will remain after the expansion of AI.
The connectors
The first career path Devaughn believes to be safe is one labelled as 'connectors', explaining that while AI works well inside a domain, it can't jump between them.
He cites product managers as the clearest example of this, as well as founders, solutions architects, strategy consultants, chiefs of staff, and Research & Development or innovation leads.
Creative jobs
Perhaps a more surprising entry on the list given that AI has made numerous attempts to recreate art, music and videos over the years, but Devaughn insists that creative roles need a person with accumulated 'lived experiences' in order to succeed.
"Creative directors and art directors are the obvious ones. Also editors, film directors, curators, casting directors, A&R in music, and heads of design," he said.
"All of those positions require years of accumulated experience and development of taste, which is through lived experiences"
Anyone whose product is trust
"Nurses, therapists, senior negotiators. AI can say the right words now, genuinely well. What it can't do is be accountable," he outlined.
"When it matters, people don't want the correct answer. They want a human who'll stand behind it."
The trades
Number four on the list is any job considered to be a 'trade', a sector which has cropped up numerous times on 'jobs most likely to be safe from AI' lists. So think builders, electricians, plumbers and so on.
Explaining why he believes this to be safe, Devaughn said: "Not because a robot can't hold a wrench, but because every job site is different and half the work is improvising against something nobody documented.
"AI is brilliant in a defined space. A crawlspace in a hundred-year-old building isn't one."
The people who supervise AI
Don't fancy any of the above? Then perhaps it's time to train yourself in being able to supervise future AI workers.
A job which Devaughn admits 'didn't exist a few years ago', roles such as Chief AI Officer, Head of AI and AI systems architect are cropping up all over the market, proving a growing demand.
"This is my actual job now," he said. "Every agent in my company has a written brief of what it's allowed to do. That role didn't exist a few years ago, and it's the fastest-growing seat in any company building with this.
"The safest job in the AI era was created by AI."
Topics: Elon Musk, Artificial Intelligence, AI, Jobs
Brenna Cooper