IN a recent workshop, I heard a graphic designer participant lament about how free-to-use graphic design tools have affected her income negatively. Clients are now opting to use free apps instead of hiring artists like her. The launching of ChatGPT is also fueling the same fear among knowledge workers, content creators, artists, and similar workers.
Incidents like what we are experiencing now with the dawn of AI and chatbots are not new. Looking at history, we have seen how technological changes and developments have always disrupted labor markets. When steam power and electricity were discovered up to the time of computers and the Internet, the same pattern has been observed as far as job disappearance is concerned. Some form of pain usually accompanies progress.
People have been asking questions like, Will AI take over my job? Or, what career would be safe from the negative impacts of these technological changes? Will there be job losses because of ChatGPT (and other similar developments)? How can I protect my livelihood? These are all very valid questions, and very timely too considering the economic upheavals many countries are currently experiencing.
AI is here and it is rapidly improving, which means it is inevitable. We might as well learn to deal with it and to thrive alongside it. Tech experts have advised workers to stay informed so they can stay ahead. Preparation is, indeed, crucial. Once we understand the potential of new technologies and the possible changes they could bring into our lives, we can plan better and position ourselves such that we can keep up.
While AI can accomplish remarkable tasks, it is far from perfect. It can generate false information or wrong analogies, plagiarize content, and come up with shallow ideas or text that lack substance, among other limitations. And so it is true what they say that the machines will still need the input of humans and that it may take some time before AI can perform highly specialized tasks that only humans, at the moment, are capable of. Aside from this, the new technologies will most likely generate new types of jobs.
I suppose what we should also guard against in the coming months would be over-reliance on apps like ChatGPT since it may be risky and even harmful to many if we are careless about the content it generates. Institutions and education agencies or bureaus must set policies and guidelines on the use of large language models in consideration of fairness and human skills development. We can’t rely on bots and lose important skills like writing, reading, analysis, and critical thinking. Presently, many of our students and workforce already have limited capabilities. Let us bridge the gaps rather than let the robots do the work for us.