There’s no doubt that the last few years have represented a turbulent period for employees. The pandemic turned the working lives of many knowledge and tech workers upside down to begin with, then swiftly followed by tens of thousands of global job cuts across big tech and financial institutions.
A further reset for many happened this year in terms of return to the office mandates, some of which are being zealously enforced. Last week, some Amazon staff got an email warning them that their in-office attendance was not in line with corporate policy.
Big Brother-style surveillance isn’t generally warmly received by workers. With burnout from workplace stress at an all-time high, what’s making things even more tense is the rise of AI anxiety thanks to the breakout success of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT.
AI anxiety is a term coined by marketing agency Day One, and the company says it is “unease about the overarching ramifications of AI on human creativity and ingenuity”, along with “the sense of foreboding as to whether or not what you’re seeing is being created by man or machine.”
One of the biggest fears workers have when they think about generative AI is around their job security. In fact, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2023 found that 23% of jobs globally will change in the next five years.
While it expects 69 million new jobs to be created, 83 million will be eliminated, which will result in a net decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2% of current employment.
Other jobs will change radically. According to a new report by McKinsey, generative AI has the potential to automate between 60% to 70% of the work that most of us engage in every day. This is particularly with regards to the work done by those in sales and marketing, customer service, software engineering and research and development.
Positive upside
But it isn’t all bad news. For many knowledge workers, generative AI tools are likely to help take back time spent on administrative tasks, freeing up their days for more creative or deep work.
A McKinsey report has found that jobs across multiple sectors could benefit from getting up to 30% of their time back thanks to use of generative AI, with the report’s authors stating that “…we see generative AI enhancing the way STEM, creative, and business and legal professionals work rather than eliminating a significant number of jobs outright.”
Among those who could be impacted positively are computer engineers, business and financial specialists and account managers.
For example, one study found that software developers using Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot (an AI pair programmer that helps users write code faster and with less work) completed tasks 56% faster than those not using the tool.
Embrace change
Right now represents a great time to embrace change. By upskilling and looking to develop ways of working with generative AI tools, workers can help to deliver business success. In fact, McKinsey says that generative AI has the potential to generate $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion in value across industries.
So, if you’d like to make a switch to a company where you can showcase new skills or be in an environment where you’re encouraged to develop them, the TechRepublic Job Board is the perfect place to start your search. It features thousands of jobs, like the three below.
Machine Learning Engineer/Firefly, Adobe, San Jose
Adobe is seeking a Machine Learning Engineer/Firefly to collaborate closely with multiple product teams. You’ll be conducting experiments to continually improve the technology and drive business outcomes, manage and operate large-scale machine learning pipelines and write high-quality, product level code that is easy to maintain and test following best practices.
To succeed, four years’ proficiency in Python and SQL as well as three years’ experience in one or more data science tools such as Pandas, Numpy, Octave, R is required. See more details.
Senior Software Engineer – Community (P2P) – Cash App, Cash App, San Francisco
As a Senior Software Engineer you will play a pivotal role in designing, implementing and maintaining robust, scalable and secure peer-to-peer payment systems. You will scope, build and scale products, systems and services that have an immediate impact on customers and collaborate with cross-functional teams to analyze and understand technical requirements, translating them into technical specifications and designs.
To apply, you’ll need five years’ of professional experience in software development and a solid understanding of distributed systems, network protocols and data structures. Get more information.
Cloud Computing Application Architect, Lead, Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean
As a Cloud Computing Application Architect you’ll serve as a critical contributor on a team that designs, manages and integrates cloud applications and resources in support of a modern enterprise data platform. You will manage and streamline infrastructure and cloud resources, including containerized applications, to meet the needs of the organization and the platform’s end users.
You’ll need seven years’ of experience working with software development teams and five years’ with AWS or Azure. Interested? Apply now.