“AI is coming for our jobs” has become one of the defining headlines of the Artificial Intelligence debate.
But what if we’re asking the wrong question?
In Episode 3 of AI Matters, Kath and Andrew look at work differently. Rather than viewing a job as one indivisible thing, think of it as a collection of tasks.
Reading emails, retrieving information, researching documents, preparing reports, entering data and completing repetitive administrative processes can consume enormous amounts of a working day. Those are precisely the areas where AI and automation can make an impact.
That doesn’t automatically mean the person disappears.
It could mean their role changes.
Professional services provide a good example. AI can search and analyse information far faster than a person manually working through large volumes of documents, but the resulting information may still require human validation, professional judgement and accountability.
We’ve seen similar transitions before. Technology changed banking, manufacturing, communications and countless other industries without eliminating the need for people. What changed were the skills people needed and the tasks they performed.
AI could accelerate that process dramatically.
The people and organisations that benefit may therefore be those prepared to ask: which parts of this job genuinely require a human, and which parts could technology do better or faster?
The key takeaway: your job may not disappear, but it is likely to be redesigned.
Listen to episode three of AI Matters to hear the full conversation.
