Experts estimate that Artificial Intelligence, or AI, could replace 300 million full-time jobs across the global workforce. For jobs that remain delegated to humans, 80% of the American workforce can expect AI to influence at least 10% of their daily work tasks.
From agriculture to zoology, AI is transforming a wide range of industries. If you’re feeling a bit shaken up by rapid AI developments and concerning predictions being shared around the digital water cooler, you’re not alone. Nearly a quarter of all workers are worried AI will make their jobs obsolete.
Let’s get past the hype and look at the reality of AI’s impact on the workforce in four key industries: finance, healthcare, computing, and cybersecurity. We break down the data to see if AI is more likely to replace or refine these jobs, highlighting the evolving nature of human and machine collaboration.
The fintech industry employs over 300,000 worldwide, with North America being the biggest employer in the industry. A recent survey found that nearly a quarter of American tech workers are worried AI will make their jobs obsolete. The concern isn’t entirely unwarranted, with thousands of layoffs in the tech arena linked directly to AI.
But when it comes to fintech roles such as financial advisor, risk analyst, or even chief financial officer, how dark and looming is the threat? Some predict that AI’s data analysis, personalization, and process automation capabilities could render human advisors obsolete. The most extreme view is that emerging AI could wholly displace financial advisors within the next decade.
This prediction leads to the question of whether consumers are ready and willing to trust AI with their financial needs. Recent data reveals that only 37% of US adults are currently interested in using AI tools to manage their money, suggesting that the widespread adoption of AI in financial advisory services may be a gradual process.
“AI will change the game, but it is unlikely to replace financial advisors…I think the world in 2030, the majority of wealth management clients are kind of expecting a data-driven, hyper-personalized advice delivery ecosystem but still with a human connection, human interface because we’re dealing with people’s livelihood – their nest eggs, their kids’ college funds,” says Lee Davidson, chief analytics officer at Morningstar.
The truth is that rather than replace, AI is set to empower human financial advisors and others in the fintech arena by enhancing their analytical capabilities and automating routine tasks. While AI excels in data analysis and personalization, humans will continue to play a crucial role in interpreting insights, building trust, and offering strategic guidance on complex financial decisions.
AI is playing an increasingly important role in cybersecurity, for good and bad. The rise in cyberattacks, many AI-powered, has created a massive demand for AI-based security products. In 2021, the market was valued at $14.9 billion. However, projections estimate it will reach an astounding $133.8 billion by 2030.
Does this mean AI-based security products will replace cybersecurity analysts, ethical hackers, and CISOs? The younger cybersecurity workforce certainly has their concerns. Over half of cybersecurity professionals aged 45 or under view AI and machine learning as a threat to their job security. And they’re not entirely wrong.
When asked about AI in cybersecurity, Rohit Ghai, CEO of RSA Security, said, “We must accept that many jobs will disappear, many will change, and some will be created.”
The US Bureau of Labor and Services backs this up, expecting the demand for Information Security Analysts to increase by nearly 35% by 2031, adding 56,500 open positions to the cybersecurity job pool.
While the hype isn’t completely unwarranted, the truth is that while AI is great at handling routine and repetitive tasks, human cybersecurity specialists bring experience, creativity, and problem-solving skills to the table.
While AI may change some aspects of cybersecurity roles, it can’t replace the human touch in overseeing and implementing security processes. However, to stay relevant, cybersecurity specialists must stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and trends while learning how to work effectively and side-by-side with AI technologies.
In 2016, Dr. Geoffrey Hinton stated that society should stop training radiologists, as it was obvious that software would replace the healthcare position in the next five years. Yet, we’re years past the deadline, and there’s a high demand for radiologists, with job postings on the American College of Radiology job board reaching a record high in 2021.
While radiologists are in the clear (for now), there are other jobs in the healthcare industry that experts predict could be displaced by AI, including medical coders and pharmacy technicians. But while rumors of layoffs flutter during shift changeovers, the truth is that a hospital filled with robots instead of RNs isn’t likely anytime soon.
It’s not all doom and gloom, AI is also aiding medical professionals, helping them do their jobs with more speed, precision, and personalized care. As an extreme example, AI-driven surgical robots work in collaboration with human surgeons. They allow surgeons to focus on the intricate aspects of a procedure while handling more mundane tasks with remarkable precision and stability, making them an asset in complex surgeries, certainly not a threat.
In addition to aiding surgical procedures, AI is proving its worth in diagnosing diseases. Alex’s journey highlights how AI, specifically ChatGPT, helped identify his tethered cord syndrome after 17 doctors over three years couldn’t. AI is also helping with medical research, writing, and education.
One interesting prediction about how AI will improve the healthcare arena deals with, of all things, humanity. As Dr. Eric Topol, renowned cardiologist and expert in the field of digital medicine, says in his book Deep Medicine: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Healthcare Human Again, “The greatest opportunity offered by AI is not reducing errors or workloads, or even curing cancer: it is the opportunity to restore the precious and time-honored connection and trust—the human touch—between patients and doctors.”
The computing industry gave rise to AI, and now AI is giving rise to changes in the industry. Tasks that once required human intervention, like data entry and basic IT support, are now being efficiently handled by algorithms. Recent data underscores this shift: data entry jobs are at risk of being entirely replaced by AI.
Still, it’s important to see the bigger picture with AI in computing. Take a programmer’s ongoing plight of sifting through lines of code to find that one pesky bug. AI can automate this process, freeing up developers to focus on more complex and innovative tasks.
Software testing is also undergoing an AI-fueled renaissance. Algorithms can quickly simulate thousands of user interactions and scenarios, ensuring software is robust and ready for deployment much faster than with human testers.
However, while AI can process, analyze, and even predict, there’s an element it lacks: the human touch. As American computer scientist Fei-Fei Li says, “Artificial intelligence is not a substitute for human intelligence; it is a tool to amplify human creativity and ingenuity.”
AI’s role in computing is undeniably transformative, but it’s not solely about replacement. It’s about partnership. As AI takes on more of the heavy lifting, humans can focus on what they do best: imagining, innovating, and instilling a touch of humanity into the digital world.
When the first automobiles hit America’s roads in the late 1800s, the horse and buggy began its descent into history. Yes, some roles faded, but the auto industry eventually paved the way for millions of new jobs.
Similarly, while AI might reshape certain professions, history has shown us that technological progress often opens doors to fresh opportunities. As AI advances, we should remember that new technology doesn’t just take away; it also gives. As we navigate this digital evolution, the horizon holds new roles, innovations, and possibilities we’ve yet to imagine.
