It is worth asking ourselves why this is an issue that troubles us so much—why, ultimately, robots generate so much social anxiety.
The thing is, this digital revolution makes us afraid, which is a basic emotion. We’re all afraid of being replaced, and we’re scared of losing our jobs.
Of course, this also applies to other phenomena, such as immigration and globalization.
What is happening now is that, instead of human migration, there is a shift from the physical world to the virtual world, which also creates uncertainty.
This raises the question of whether we are heading toward a society in which there will be no more jobs for humans, or in which such jobs will be low-paying.
There will be problems, but not with salaries—rather, with a lack of skills and knowledge.
New jobs
Ultimately, there will be a gap between the skills needed to perform a job and the skills people possess to address the challenges these new jobs present.
It is clear that new jobs will emerge, and we will need to be prepared in terms of our skills and abilities, as well as having the necessary academic training.
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Examples of these new jobs include: digital map designers, sensor maintenance technicians, and vehicle systems programmers, among others.
Is it possible to adapt to these changes in such a short time? Our prior knowledge, as well as our cognitive, financial, and time resources, will determine whether or not we can adapt in a timely and effective manner. This is difficult, but possible.
The role of technology
"The real threat to our work is not an excess of technology but a lack of knowledge," says Dr. Jorge Grünberg, rector Universidad ORT Uruguay.
It is clear that humans will continue to have an advantage in literary writing, where creativity, experience, and emotion are crucial, or in opinion essays that involve personal convictions and moral choices that cannot be quantified.
"Despite this, the production of routine content—such as computer programs, news articles, social media posts, legal opinions, sales pitches, advertising brochures, technical manuals, and many others—will be vulnerable to automated writing by bots like ChatGPT," notes the rector ORT.
This is causing a great deal of concern among people who, until now, believed that machines would never be able to write like humans.
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At the individual level or within specific occupations, this fear is understandable. But at the societal level, this fear is ahistorical. Major technological changes have always eliminated some jobs, but they have created many more—many of them in new occupations and professions.
Of course, some people will be negatively affected in the short term. Technological changes are redefining the comparative advantages between humans and machines.
When technology makes it possible to automate a task, we humans must look for other tasks in which we are more productive than machines. But in order to perform those new tasks, we need to retrain ourselves.
The real threat to the world of work is not an excess of technology but a lack of knowledge. In general, companies lack both the capacity and the incentive to continuously retrain their workers. Most workers lack the time and money needed to acquire the new skills they require to compete for new jobs.
"Therefore, the market will not provide the necessary reskilling on the scale and at the pace required. The solution is not to put obstacles in the way of technological change, but to organize permanent retraining systems accessible to the entire population. This is a central social security issue that should be given has emphasis in the pension reform proposal that we Uruguayans are discussing," says Grünberg.
ChatGPT
What role does ChatGPT play in all of this? ChatGPT allows users to have conversations and request not only information but also creative content, such as articles, letters, or even poems.
This tool is based on a massive dataset comprising an estimated 175 million search parameters. Its full impact is not yet clear, but it is already evident that it will influence education as well as programming and communications work. It is a powerful tool.
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However, we shouldn't be afraid of this artificial intelligence; instead, we should try to understand it, because it works with algorithms that identify patterns and repeat them.
For the International Labour Organization, preparing for the jobs of the future is of great importance.
This institution emphasizes "the right to lifelong learning, which enables people to acquire skills, improve them, and retrain professionally."
"Lifelong learning encompasses both formal and informal learning, from early childhood and throughout basic education to learning in adulthood. Governments, workers, and employers, as well as educational institutions, have complementary responsibilities in creating an effective and adequately funded ecosystem for lifelong learning."
According to the international consulting firm Deloitte, the future of work is linked to:
- People.
- The power to do what we do best.
- Thinking creatively by using our emotional intelligence, making value judgments, and communicating, teaching, and sharing wisdom.
Deloitte also notes that 57% of jobs worldwide are highly vulnerable to automation.
Work, workers, and workplaces will all change dramatically in the coming years because a number of factors have brought us to a turning point.
The consulting firm concludes that the world of work will change as radically as the world of personal communications began to change ten years ago.
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