The last works of humanity after AI

And if I told you that, according to some of the greatest experts in artificial intelligence, it is not only that work is going to change, but perhaps work, as we know it, will simply disappear, because researcher Dr. Roman Yampolskiy, security specialist at Ya, stated in an interview for the Diary of CEO podcast that by 2027 we could achieve artificial general intelligence, machines capable of thinking, learning and acting better than humans in practically everything.

The impact of all this on the labor market would be devastating according to Roman Yampolskiy and he describes a scenario with 99% global unemployment, where practically all physical and cognitive activity would be automated, in 5 years all physical work could also be automated, warns the researcher.

The result would be a world in which only a small group of professions would resist extinction, but what would those jobs be? Yampolskiy claims that only functions where humans still prefer the touch of another human would survive, he mentions five areas that at least for now appear to be safe. First, professions that depend on personal trust such as accountants and high-level consultants; because millionaires would not replace their personal human accountant with an AI, says the specialist.

Second, manual and artisanal work that could become true luxuries in an automated world, in quotes, “manual work could become a fetish,” he says, handmade products, a sculpture, a piece of furniture, a bread, could cost more than any industrialized item.

Third, therapists and human care professionals; Although there are those who simulate empathy, the genuine emotional bond between two people remains irreplaceable, because the human subjective experience will continue to be unique.

The fourth group included the inspectors and regulators of the AI ​​itself, they are the humans in charge of ensuring that the machines make ethical and safe decisions, although temporarily, we will still need people to monitor and audit the systems until they learn to correct themselves.

And finally, he talks about a fifth group, AI educators, communicators and translators, people capable of explaining technology to those who do not understand it, of helping companies adopt it without destroying everything, of showing politicians, leaders and citizens what is really happening, even those who are technology experts today will have difficulties keeping up with the pace of changes, so we will need people to serve as a bridge between the human world and that of machines.

Other experts believe that, unlike previous technological revolutions, this time AI will not create millions of new jobs to compensate for those it destroys, because if it replaces both the arm and the brain, what is left? These predictions, although alarming, reveal an essential debate, which happens with a society where work is no longer necessary.

In a world of abundance created by machines that I don't think will come from other things, the challenge would no longer be to survive, but to find purpose, without work as the axis of life, humanity will have to reinvent its own identity, if its predictions are correct, 2030 could mark the end of the era of human work and so, looking at what you do today, do you think your work is closer to being replaced or to being part of that small group of functions made by humans?