Running Scared?

The latest disruptor is AI and ChatGPT. People are again running scared that their jobs will become redundant due to new technology.

And the fact is that they may. But rather than running scared, face it head-on and respond accordingly.

In the face of adversity …

I remember I had a poster on my wall in my university days that pictured a mouse facing an incoming swooping eagle and giving it the f*** you sign with the words “In the face of adversity, total defiance is the only recourse.”

So, like that mouse, we can refuse to be consumed by the threat, or turn and run knowing that the eagle will catch up with us eventually. We may have bought some time but that is all we have achieved.

This is not something new.

A stitch in time

In the 1800s tailors worried about sewing machines replacing their jobs. The first machine to be mass-produced for the public was invented by French tailor Barthelemy Thimmonnier in 1830. The inventor was almost killed by an enraged group of French tailors who burned down his garment factory because they feared unemployment because of his sewing machine invention.

 In fact, it meant that the mass production of clothing and army uniforms, upholstery for cars, bedding, towels and much more became possible. Clothing became more affordable, and demand increased.

This was the start of the industrial revolution.

Sewing was a labour-intensive activity. Sewing new clothes and mending well-worn outfits took time, attention, and skill. This made it an expensive and slow-moving industry. When the sewing machine took hold in the latter part of the 19th century, a new world became possible. The garment industry, as we know it today, was born and faced growth that had never before been possible. Tailors, prepared to reskill, had more employment choices than ever before.

Another industrial revolution

The first industrial revolution occurred between the 18th and 19th centuries. The iron and textile industries along with the development of the water wheel and the steam engine were key players, The biggest impact was on agriculture where work was predominantly done by hand. Farmers reskilled to become boiler makers, ironsmiths, and mechanics working in the factories that had taken over their land.

The second industrial revolution took place between 1870 and 1914 just before World War 1. Big advances included the telephone, light bulb, phonograph and internal combustion engine. This was when steam mechanics reskilled to become electricians.

The third industrial revolution encompassed the move from analogue electronic and mechanical devices to the digital technology of today and started in the 1980s. New jobs that not existed previously were created e.g., software and hardware engineers, designers, IT specialists, and logistics experts.

Now we are facing the fourth industrial revolution marked by emerging technology breakthroughs in fields including robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, quantum computing, biotechnology, autonomous vehicles, and more.

All the previous industrial revolutions predicted mass job losses, but history tells us this is not what happened. Jobs were created and living standards improved. The same will happen again.

Strategy

Every individual and organisation need a strategy to allay an unfounded fear of automation and AI. Organisations must retrain, reskill, and transform the workforce. Individuals must stop wasting time worrying about their job and focus on finding opportunities to reskill for their next role.

Reflect

As I have started this newsletter, take time to reflect on what has happened in the past and how the predictions of doom and despair never eventuated.

If I reflect on my career which started in the early 80s as a computer operator, computing was still in its infancy. I worked on an IBM mainframe which we booted up using punch cards.

God help the person who dropped the pack and had to put each card back in the right order if the mainframe was to boot up!

Paper tape was used for data storage and later replaced by magnetic tape.

Our personal computers were word processors, and we saved the information onto floppy disks that we stored in a floppy disk box which would now be the cloud.

I have experienced many changes and transformations in my career regarding the way work gets done. I have also witnessed the demise of both organisations and individuals that were not prepared to change and innovate.

So, before we run scared, let’s reflect on what has gone before, and the fact that we are still here to tell the story.

Whilst I can reflect, I cannot predict what the impact of AI and ChatGPT will have on the future of work. I can hypothesise and suggest that content writers and coders should be seriously thinking about their next role and the skills they will need to learn. The best we can do is be proactive.

Remind

Reassure yourself and others that whilst there is a lot that technology can do better than us humans, we have unique attributes and abilities that cannot be replaced.

Remind ourselves that our human skills will always be necessary. AI systems are currently limited in their ability to reason and draw logical conclusions from data.

As a writer, I know that I no longer add value by telling you how to develop an employee development plan. ChatGPT can do that for you. But I can add value by providing you with my opinion on why and how that needs to change based on my own unique experiences and observations. ChatGPT cannot write a unique opinion piece, it can only aggregate what has gone before.

If you are a “creative”, remind yourself that Ai cannot be creative. It cannot create without guidelines.

Remind yourself that AI can mimic human behaviour, but it cannot create it.

Reframe

Rather than worrying we can reframe.

Reframing allows us to look at a situation from a different angle or perspective. The idea is that the frame through which we look at a situation determines how we feel about it. When we change the frame, the meaning changes, and our thinking and behaviour change along with it.

When faced with the possibility that our current role could be replaced with technology, we need to reframe the situation, so we do not see ourselves as a victim. We can switch our focus from the job that we have to the one that we want to have. Rather than have a frame that looks at the current situation as the end of the world, reframe the situation as one of the new opportunities. When we do this, we can develop a forward-looking mindset which is crucial for our mental well-being.

Reassess

What do you really want to do next? You may not be able to predict what will happen to the industry in which you currently work, but you should try to avoid putting yourself back in the same situation you are currently in.

There is plenty of research that can be accessed to determine the potential impact of AI on various industries. If you are in transportation – think self-driving cars. If you are in manufacturing - think robotics. If you are in healthcare – think big data and the ability of AI to identify diseases more quickly and accurately, speed up and streamline drug discovery and even monitor patients through virtual nursing assistants. If you are in media – think about AI writing tools such as ChatGPT. If you are in customer service – think about how AI is powering the customer service industry come in the form of chatbots and virtual assistants.

Reskill

Whilst organisations must develop strategies and programs for employee development and growth, individuals must also take ownership of their career progression.

Retaining and reskilling in the face of AI growth is imperative if organisations are to attract and retain talent. Organisations can allay fear and risk of losing employees by ensuring everyone has access to training and reskilling for AI. If they cannot use it, they cannot benefit from it.

Organisations can provide reassurance, along with career planning and developmental steps which goes a long way toward people feeling less anxious about the future and more engaged in creating it. 

We need to prepare our current workforce just as we need to prepare our future workforce. In 2016 the World Economic Forum said 65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new jobs types that don’t exist yet.

Reconnect

As technology becomes more invasive in both our work and personal lives, there is the chance that it becomes more transactional than relational. Employees, regardless of where they work, want a sense of connection to both their organisation and their colleagues.

There must be a deliberate intention to ensure there is a connection in the workplace. A connection to the purpose of the organisation and connection to the team. There must be time for connection to take place and provision of shared goals that empower people to come together with a diverse mix of skills and experiences and achieve common goals.

Recap

We must come together and mitigate the fear that AI and ChatGPT are creating. Let’s face what is coming and embrace the change and opportunity that it will bring. We may not be able to give each other certainty of what the future may look like, but we can give each other clarity of what we can do to be ready for it.