Worried about your job? Here Are 13 Ways AI (thinks it) will create MORE job security

Will AI take all our jobs? My strong belief is no. I’m bullish that AI will make work better for everyone and create material abundance, potentially way beyond our wildest dreams.

So how, exactly, is AI going to make our jobs safer?

I have some ideas, but thought it would be more fun to ask GPT-4 to make the case, and then play a game of “Buy 📈 or Sell 📉” for each of its arguments.

So with that - here are 13 ways (GPT-4 thinks) AI will IMPROVE job security, and make work better for us all.

#1 Faster Adaptation:

GPT-4’s Take:

AI will change how almost everyone does their job, but it will also enable workers to re-skill more quickly than ever before. As automation takes over repetitive tasks, you'll have the chance to focus on more meaningful, fulfilling work, and adapt to new opportunities in the evolving job market.

My Take - STRONG BUY 📈📈📈:

We’ve had a generation’s worth of politicians on both sides of the aisle tell us they were going to help coal miners learn to code.  But let’s face it - we suck at re-skilling workers to new jobs. We spend billions on reinvestment and retraining in communities impacted by automation, yet we’ve experience tragic deaths of despair and declining life expectancy in the areas hardest hit by economic dislocation. But now - you literally can teach anyone who can read and write to code and build programs. Will this guarantee the next Steve Jobs is a high school dropout from Morgantown, WV? No. Does it dramatically lower the barrier to learning new and valuable skills? Absolutely.

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#2 New Career Paths:

GPT-4’s Take:

AI will create new jobs that no one has ever even thought of. Here are four examples of new jobs that will emerge, utilizing logical reasoning and creativity in novel ways:

1. AI ethicists: As AI systems become more sophisticated, we'll need professionals to ensure ethical guidelines are met, balancing technology with human values.
2. Creative technologists: Combining creativity and technical skills, these experts will develop unique solutions for industries like advertising, entertainment, and design.
3. AI trainers: AI systems need guidance, and AI trainers will teach them how to perform tasks, understand context, and make decisions.
4. Personal data brokers: In a world where data is king, these professionals will help individuals manage and monetize their personal data while protecting privacy.

My Take - WEAK BUY 📈:

I strongly agree that AI will create new jobs no one, not even GPT-4, can currently dream up (hallucinate?). But I’m skeptical of some of these examples, at least to the extent that we’ll have enough demand for paid “AI-ethicists” and “Personal data brokers” to materially offset the loss of any category of white-collar job impacted by AI.  Creative Technologist is pretty broad to the point of being meaningless, but think it’s closer to what a lot of jobs will move toward. AI will dramatically lower the barrier to entry and the technical skills needed to start and scale any type of business so you can imagine a world of creators of all sorts that use AI to start and run small businesses, chipping away at big businesses, and taking us to a world where a new merchant class accounts for much more of economic growth.

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#3: Abundance

GPT-4’s Take:

AI will create material abundance by automating production, reducing waste, and optimizing resource allocation. As a result, we'll enjoy dramatically higher living standards and increased access to goods and services at lower costs.

My Take - STRONG BUY 📈📈📈:

AI is disinflationary—it will ultimately make intelligence, and the byproducts of that intelligence—way cheaper. This means we’ll be able to buy more stuff with less money. Combine the disinflationary impact of abundant fusion energy + radical improvements in medical and health treatments (both of which AI is likely to accelerate) you have for abundance. How will this impact work? You’ll need to work far fewer hours and make less money to obtain a much richer life—in absolute, but perhaps not relative terms.

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#4: New Unfathomable Industries

GPT-4’s Take:

AI will enable new businesses that were either economically unfeasible or unimaginable in the pre-AI world. For example, personalized healthcare could become a reality, with AI-powered diagnostics and treatments tailored to individual patients. Additionally, AI-driven virtual reality experiences could transform entertainment, education, and even how we socialize.

My Take - STRONG BUY 📈📈📈:

No one 200 years ago would have imagined that SaaS software, to pick one example, would be one of the most prominent industries today. No one 20 years ago would have imagined the creator economy…rinse…repeat.

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#5: Solving Labor Shortages

GPT-4’s Take:

With declining birth rates and a lack of workers, AI will play a crucial role in solving labor shortages. By automating tasks and boosting productivity, AI will help maintain and grow our economy, ensuring continued prosperity.

My Take - STRONG BUY 📈📈📈:

I would reframe this slightly - AI will eliminate the existence of labor shortages, rather than solving them. See above on Abundance - this might sound a bit utopian but I think we are underestimating the extent to which AI will reduce the need for work in the traditional 40-hour work week sense while still letting those who want to work thrive. Tim Ferris is going to need to write a sequel.

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#6: Everyone working at the top of their license (or no longer needing a license!):

GPT-4’s Take:

AI will make work more interesting, as it will take over mundane tasks and allow us to focus on the aspects of our jobs that truly matter. For instance:

1. Doctors will spend less time on paperwork and more time on patient care, thanks to AI-driven administrative support.
2. Architects and engineers will use AI to optimize designs, allowing them to focus on creativity and innovation.
3. Teachers will rely on AI to personalize curriculums, so they can dedicate more time to inspiring and engaging with their students.
4. Engineers who no longer need to spend their time refactoring code or manually searching GitHub repos can work on higher-value, more interesting tasks.

My Take - WEAK BUY 📈:

I buy this for many doctors and engineers, where a lot of mundane work often gets in the way of the core craft, but for some teachers and architects, less so. For a lot of professions, “the craft” even the mundane aspects of the craft are what give people their career purposes. This will be a hard adjustment for a lot of workers and workplaces set in their ways, potentially spurring a revival of Luddism.

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#7: Level Academic Playing Field

GPT-4’s Take:

AI will democratize access to expertise, making quality education and professional guidance more affordable and widely available. This means that you'll be able to continually upskill and stay relevant in a fast-paced job market. Everyone will have access to a top-tier, personalized education.

My Take - STRONG SELL 📉📉📉:

While I’m bullish on AI making reskilling much easier and more realistic (see above), and generally expanding opportunity, I’m skeptical that this will result in an even distribution of education and opportunities insofar as the signaling and credentials associated with education may matter MORE. Harvard hasn’t increased their student body to keep up with population growth or the growth in 100% qualified applicants. Not because it can’t build more dorms, but because it doesn’t want to. It’s selling a scarce good that it wants to keep scarce. This will become increasingly true as everyone has a Harvard-quality (or better) education in their personalized AI education chatbot.

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#8: Inclusion

GPT-4s Take:

AI will help create inclusive work environments by minimizing bias in recruitment, promotions, and performance evaluations. This will ensure that your skills and contributions are recognized and rewarded fairly, increasing job security.

My Take - WEAK SELL 📉:

While I am hopeful this will happen - I’m equally concerned AI could exacerbate existing inequities and reinforce existing feedback loops that lead to disparate outcomes. This is an area where there is promise for startups to make an impact.

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#9: Work-Life Balance

GPT-4's Take:

AI will promote a healthy work-life balance by streamlining tasks and improving time management. As a result, you'll be able to focus on personal growth and well-being, leading to a more fulfilling career.

My Take: STRONG BUY 📈📈📈:

See above on AI (plus other technologies) creating abundance such that we can work half as much to create (at least) twice as great of life. I also think work will become more interesting and less repetitive. Prompt engineering might not be a thing forever once AI gets really advanced but it’s a hell of a lot more fun than a lot of other jobs or new skillsets to learn.

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#10: Collaboration

GPT-4’s Take:

AI-driven collaboration tools will enhance teamwork and communication, allowing teams to work more efficiently and effectively. By leveraging AI, you'll be better equipped to collaborate and contribute to your organization's success.

My Take - WEAK SELL 📉:

Sure - AI might help us collaborate better, but email (to say nothing of Excel and Powerpoint) has survived countless predictions of its death and at this rate will outlive the Metaverse, so I’m taking the under on this one.

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#11: Global Peace & Cooperation

GPT-4’s Take:

AI will play a crucial role in mitigating global challenges, such as climate change and food security. By joining the workforce in industries that utilize AI to address these issues, you'll contribute to a sustainable future and secure long-term job prospects.

My Take - WEAK SELL 📉:

This might be GPT-4s biggest “narrative violation” on AI impacting the workforce. I tend to take the view that AI creating breakdowns in international relations—imagine Russia manufacturing the next SVB-bank run using AI—as one of the biggest  threats AI poses. I do think AI will help contribute to solving climate change - if only by accelerating R&D and uncovering new opportunities for energy efficiency. But, on net I think AI poses yet unmitigated risks to global stability, risks which could lead to instability, wars, and worker dislocation.

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#12: Remote & Flexible Work

GPT-4’s Take:

AI will open up opportunities for remote work and flexible schedules, allowing you to work from anywhere and balance personal responsibilities. This will not only make work more enjoyable but also offer more job security, as companies embrace remote workforces.

My Take - WEAK BUY 📈:

I’m torn on this one. While its conceivable AI will make working remotely easier and more productive, it also could displace a lot of the jobs that you can do remotely (copywriters) and increase demand for jobs where IRL is really a pre-requisite (plumbers, small business owners). The upshot: I think AI on net will level the playing field for where you can live and where you can start a business, which will lead to smaller, more affordable cities and suburban areas seeing growth and expensive cities that refuse to build housing but historically have had a larger relative share of the “good jobs” having their playing fields leveled.

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#13: Leveled Competition

GPT-4’s Take:

AI will empower small businesses and startups to compete with larger corporations by leveling the playing field. As a result, you'll have more opportunities to work in diverse and innovative environments, offering greater job security.

Matt’s Take - STRONG BUY 📈📈📈:

The playing field is already being leveled in software and we’re likely to see that in other industries soon like media/entertainment, gaming. You no longer need an army of engineers to build great software, and don’t need to be venture backed to launch an amazing company. AI will turn many SaaS businesses into lifestyle businesses that anyone can start in minutes and that will be easy to bootstrap.

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It’s going to be a wild few years. Here’s hoping GPT-4s optimistic predictions for work pan out 🤖🎲!