The AI employee

In the 19th century, British Luddites were destroying machines because they believed they were taking away people’s jobs. History has shown that they were wrong. In the 21st century, the development of artificial intelligence raises similar concerns. For whom will it make work easier, and from whom will it take it away? Labor market researchers are already trying to answer these questions.

The award in this year’s prestigious Sony World Photography Award in the Creativity / Open category was won by a photo taken by Boris Eldagssen. However, the black-and-white portrait of two women, in the style of photographs from the post-war years, turned out to be generated by artificial intelligence. Eldagssen refused to accept the award. He explained that he used the provocation to start a discussion about the future of the photography industry. An industry that has used so many digital tools over the years that it is often difficult to say: this photo reflects reality.

Photography, due to the fact that it is mostly digital and therefore easily modifiable, may be the art field that will be most quickly affected by AI. Painting and sculpture, for example, seemed immune to it. That’s why the art world was surprised this year by the news that AI had become… the curator of an exhibition. This happened at the Nasher Museum of Art (owned by the American Duke University). “Act as if you are curator” – this was the task ChatGPT was given, having to select works from the museum’s collection for an exhibition about utopia, dystopia, dreams and the subconscious. It didn’t do well with everything (for example, he had a problem with the layout of the exhibition), made several mistakes in the names of the works, and surprised the supervising museum staff with the choice of some of the pieces. Not surprisingly, one critic also used ChatGPT to write a review of this exhibition.

If an AI-based tool can replace a curator – with its knowledge, experience, knowledge of collections, cultural contexts and references – what can we say about other professions?

What is AI?

The term “artificial intelligence” (AI) has been making a splash lately, but it is not a new phenomenon, as it has been developing intensely since the 1990s. We encounter it in many areas – talking to a bot on a hotline, using an Internet search engine, streaming services (Netflix, Spotify) or the help of voice assistants (Siri, Alexa).

What is the subject of this text? It can be described in many ways. In EU documents, it is defined as “the ability of machines to exhibit human skills such as reasoning, learning, planning and creativity. Artificial intelligence enables technical systems to perceive their environment, deal with what they perceive and solve problems, working toward a specific goal. The computer receives data (already prepared or collected through its sensors, such as a camera), processes it and reacts. AI systems are able to adjust their behavior to some extent by analyzing the effects of previous actions and acting autonomously.”

In turn, the authors of “Policy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence in Poland from 2020” write: “Artificial intelligence (AI) tends to be defined as a field of knowledge that includes, among other things, neural networks, robotics and the creation of models of intelligent behavior and computer programs that simulate these behaviors, also including machine learning, deep learning and reinforcement learning.

AI at work

Artificial intelligence support is already being used by one in three companies in Poland, according to the report “AI and the labor market in Poland” created by Cpl Poland, Just Join IT and RocketJobs.pl. 100 companies and 600 employees were surveyed (almost half of them represented the IT industry), and some questions were also answered by ChatGPT.

As many as 64.89 percent of respondents claimed that artificial intelligence could be both an opportunity and a threat in the job market. When asked what skills AI could replace, respondents most often indicated: translation (85.22 percent of answers), copywriting (83.96 percent), graphics creation (67.61 percent), customer query handling (65.41 percent) and image processing (58.49 percent). Almost all, 9 out of 10 respondents, agreed with the statement that artificial intelligence will cause changes in professions: some will disappear, and new ones will be created in their place.

The issue of its impact on the labor market in Poland has been described at length by… artificial intelligence itself.

It wrote that it could lead to the automation of many routine and repetitive activities, especially routine physical and mental work. “However, the development of AI opens the door to new opportunities. Creating, managing and maintaining AI systems requires specialized skills. There may be a growing demand for AI engineers, data analysis specialists, data scientists, AI ethicists, and experts in fields related to automation and robotics.” – This was the response generated by ChatGPT. It also indicated that in the services sector, AI can improve their personalization, efficiency and quality. It pointed out that there will also be a need for re-education and retraining of workers. And that the development of AI poses ethical challenges, such as accountability for decisions made by machines, data security or equality.

Who will be replaced by artificial intelligence?

This, by the way, is not the only report on the impact of AI on the labor market that has been released recently. The topic is a heated one, because there is no denying that artificial intelligence will bring significant changes. This was clearly demonstrated by the emergence of ChatGPT. If it can write an article, why will we need journalists? If the sentences translated by Google Translator already sound better and better, why will we need translators? We have MidJourney, then why will we need graphic designers or photographers?

Let’s take a look at the World Economic Forum’s report “Jobs of Tomorrow: Large Language Models and Jobs,” which was created in collaboration with Accenture. The document was published in September 2023 and focuses on large language models (LLMs, that’s ChatGPT, for example). The researchers analyzed the specific tasks that people in different professions perform. They tried to find an answer to the question of which of them can be performed by AI or with its help. They analyzed more than 19,000 different activities and 867 professions

They found that the fastest to be replaced by large language models are routine and repetitive tasks, the most difficult – those that require abstract thinking and problem-solving skills. It will also be difficult for AI to replace activities that require a high degree of cooperation and interaction between people.

So what will AI be doing?

The researchers divided the activities into four groups. The first included those most likely to be automated. These include administrative and clerical tasks; designing databases; analyzing data to improve operations; tracking trends and events; obtaining information about products and services; and documenting projects, procedures or technical activities.

In the second category of activities – where LLM can be a support for people – they included evaluating the capabilities or activities of employees; collecting data on customer needs and opinions; reading documents or other materials; assessing the condition of a patient or customer; preparing information materials or instructions; and testing the operation of information systems.

The third group consists of tasks that AI will have little impact on. These include: negotiating contracts and agreements; representing a community, a group or an individual; collaborating on educational programs; direct scientific or technical tasks; working with others to solve problems; evaluating designs, specifications or other technical data.

The last group are tasks that do not require the use of language, such as loading goods for transport, preparing concoctions and solutions, assembling equipment or its components, agricultural work, cutting and styling hair, installing equipment that produces energy or heat.

An automated cashier

The researchers have analyzed what percentage of a given job’s tasks can be replaced by AI. Among the leading professions in the ranking are those related to the granting of credit (analysis, application processing, decision-making) – 81 percent of the working time of employees in these positions can be managed by artificial intelligence. The following are, among others: management analysts, telemarketers, statistical assistants, cashiers, forensic science technicians, reception and information desk workers, stockbrokers, and those employed in production, planning and dispatching.

Whereas the professions least likely to be affected by artificial intelligence (LLM) are: educational and professional counselors, priests, legal assistants, home caregivers, anesthesiologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, real estate professionals, oral surgeons, athletes, agricultural workers or mental health counselors. Those working as “dish pigs,” highway maintenance workers, carpenters or butchers don’t have to worry about their future.

AI will replace workers in performing some activities, but its development will result in the emergence of new professions, primarily related to the development of artificial intelligence and large language models.

What about the blog?

We asked ChatGPT if he could write this text. “Of course, I can write a text about artificial intelligence for the Łukasiewicz – PIT blog. Please provide more details, such as the length of the text, the topic or the specific content you would like to include, and then I will adjust the content to your needs. Artificial intelligence is a fascinating subject that can be discussed from different perspectives, so this information will help me create content that is best suited to your expectations,” – it replied.

Yes, we agree with ChatGPT that it is a fascinating subject, so we preferred to explore and describe it ourselves. 😊