AI and the Future of Work: Skill Shifts and Jobs in Demand
At the 2024 AI Connect K-12 Data Science Conference, BOLD data scientist Prashant Kumar explained how AI is changing the workplace. He covered productivity gains, bias and security risks, and the roles and skills he expects to be in demand.
By The AI Enterprise Magazine Team3 min read
Key takeaways
- AI is already in the workplace. Chatbots, workflow automation, predictive maintenance and content generation were his examples.
- Humans and AI together. Kumar said AI takes repetitive tasks while people handle complex work.
- Risks need attention. He named bias and security as the main challenges and expects more regulation.
- Learning never stops. Tools change within months, so he called upskilling a continuous learning curve.
- Demand roles. AI specialists, data scientists, cybersecurity experts, automation engineers and UX designers.
At the 2024 AI Connect K-12 Data Science Conference, a virtual event held July 25, 2024, Prashant Kumar, a data scientist at BOLD, spoke about how artificial intelligence is changing work and what students should do to prepare. Kumar, who said he has about 10 years in the field, aimed the talk at a mostly non-technical audience of students and educators.
He opened by thanking the AI Connect team for the months of logistics behind the conference, calling it "one of a kind" for bringing together K-12 students and educators.
What is AI, and how fast has it advanced?
Kumar gave a "30,000-foot" definition: AI is a field of computer science that makes machines imitate human behavior and tasks, so people can hand off repetitive work and do complex work more efficiently.
He traced a timeline of milestones: IBM's Deep Blue beating chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, Apple's Siri in 2011, DeepMind's AlphaGo beating a world Go player in 2016, the Sophia robot's appearance at the United Nations in 2017, and the recent arrival of ChatGPT-style large language models.
He also said AI's computing power is now doubling about every six months, faster than the two-year cadence of Moore's law. That was his characterization, and he offered no source in the session.
How is AI already changing the workplace?
Kumar listed automated scheduling and workflow management, customer service chatbots that now handle complex questions once answered by human representatives, predictive maintenance that flags equipment likely to fail, and automated data analysis that surfaces trends once data is uploaded.
He spoke most directly about content generation and curation, the area he works on at BOLD, which he described as focused on career development. Work that he said could have taken five or six years without AI was done by his team in six months to a year.
What productivity gains did Kumar cite?
Kumar cited what he called a recent study, without naming it, that found productivity gains when AI tools are used: 45% in data analysis, 35% in content creation, 55% in customer service and 40% in project management. These figures could not be verified from the session.
He argued that people and AI work best together. AI handles repetitive tasks, while humans focus on complex work that needs deep knowledge, and can also use AI to support their business decisions.
What risks and challenges did he raise?
Kumar named bias in AI-driven business decisions and security as the main concerns. He mentioned a case in the UK in which, as he understood it, AI exposed a customer's credit card details and a fraudulent transaction followed. He gave no further detail.
He said he expects more regulation and that organizations will work to prevent misuse. The goal, he said, is AI that is secure, sustainable and equitable.
Which skills and jobs will matter?
Because AI is replacing repetitive tasks while creating demand for digital and technical skills, Kumar said workers must keep learning, and that employers, educators and policy makers should work together on which skills are needed. "This is a continuous learning curve," he said, adding that tools and technology can change within six months.
The roles he expected to be in demand:
- AI specialists who develop and manage AI tools
- Data scientists and analysts who use AI tools in business decisions
- Cybersecurity experts
- Automation engineers
- User experience designers who decide where and how people interact with AI
Kumar noted the list could change in the coming six months, given the pace of the field. He ended by urging the audience to embrace AI and upskill.
Keep following AI and work
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Frequently asked questions
What jobs will be in demand because of AI?
Kumar listed AI specialists, data scientists and analysts, cybersecurity experts, automation engineers and user experience designers.
How is AI changing work?
He said AI automates scheduling and workflows, powers customer service chatbots, predicts equipment failures, generates content and produces automatic data insights.
What are the risks of AI at work?
Kumar named bias in business decisions and security concerns, and said he expects more regulation to prevent misuse.
This article is based on remarks by Prashant Kumar, Data Scientist, BOLD at AI Connect K-12 Data Science Conference 2024 on July 25, 2024. More coverage: More AI Connect Events.
Filed under: People, Culture & Leadership, AI Use Cases & Applications
