Explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping creativity and the workforce, presenting both challenges and opportunities for workers in the digital age. File photo.
The term “survival of the fittest”, was made famous in a research paper (published in 1869) titled On the Origin of Species by British naturalist Charles Darwin, which suggested that organisms best adjusted to their environment are the most successful in surviving. Not the strongest, or biggest, or most intelligent nor the fastest but the most adaptable people will stay relevant in the workforce of the future.
Today the human worker is faced with an existential threat due to the advent of Artificial Intelligence threatening the value contribution of the human worker. Every business needed a website in the 90s, today they need AI to stay competitive. We are currently in a Digital renaissance (the renaissance was primarily a time of the revival of Classical learning and wisdom after a long period of cultural decline and stagnation.)
1. Accelerating progress in AI and automation is creating opportunities for businesses, the economy, and society. McKinsey concluded that about 30 percent of the activities in 60 percent of all occupations could be automated. The ability of organizations to adopt these technologies, where people, data availability, technology, and process readiness often make it difficult.
McKinsey believes there will be enough work to go around (barring extreme scenarios), and society will need to grapple with significant workforce transitions and dislocation. Workers will need to acquire new skills and adapt to the increasingly capable machines alongside them in the workplace.
They may have to move from declining occupations to growing and, in some cases, new occupations. Automation will displace some workers. McKinsey found that about 400 million workers, could be displaced by automation in the period 2016–2030. The process has obviously started some time ago already, but it is not yet fully operational, especially in less advanced economies. Labour protection laws also play a role but to stay internationally competitive we all need to adapt.
McKinsey’s analysis of more than 2000 work activities across more than 800 occupations shows that certain categories of activities are more easily automatable than others. They include physical activities in highly predictable and structured environments, as well as data collection and data processing. These account for roughly half of the activities that people do across all sectors. The least susceptible categories include managing others, providing expertise, and interfacing with stakeholders.
2. Deployment of AI and automation technologies can do much to lift the global economy and increase global prosperity, at a time when aging and falling birth rates are acting as a drag on growth. Labor productivity growth, a key driver of economic growth, has slowed in many economies, dropping to an average of 0.5 percent in 2010–2014 from 2.4 percent a decade earlier in the United States and major European economies, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis after a previous productivity boom had waned. AI and automation have the potential to reverse that decline: productivity growth could potentially reach 2 percent annually over the next decade, with 60 percent of this increase from digital opportunities.
3. Jobs lost: Some occupations will see significant declines by 2030. Automation will displace some workers. McKinsey has found that about 400 million workers, could be displaced by automation in the period 2016–2030. This reflects our midpoint scenario in projecting the pace and scope of adoption. Under the fastest scenario we have modelled, that figure rises to 30% or 800 million workers. In our slowest adoption scenario, only about 10 million people would be displaced, close to zero percent of the global workforce.
4. Darwin noted that all individuals did not start with the same set of characters (or traits). The changing dynamics at work via digitisation and artificial intelligence could be seen as a great leveller. Suddenly we are all equal again. We all have access to information via the web. We all must adapt to the latest technology. There will be new winners and new losers. There is nobody left behind who wants to take part. It only requires a willingness to learn and work to acquire the latest skills. The person with the superior AI skills will in a short period overtake anyone no matter what they may have inherited or learned previously as there are no new rules.
5. We are all familiar with the distinction between specialists and generalists. It is the former that demands high compensation. In the medical and legal field, we are too aware of the exorbitant fees that these specialists charge. R2,500 for a 30-minute appointment or R50,000 per day for a senior advocate are but some examples. With AI today the average person can almost acquire 80% of much specialist’s knowledge by utilising AI. Liam Ottley proposes 4 fundamental pillars that one needs to acquire.
These can be summed up as:
5.1 The Power to Build.
5.2 The Power to Automate.
5.3 The Power to Create.
The Power to connect.
5.1 The Power to Build. The world is run on computer systems that all require software development. Software developers take a long time to develop systems and are expensive to hire. Now one could acquire their skills with AI tools such as Bolt and Replit to help you develop the software required and it can be done with a prompt in plain language. The Replit Agent is an AI-powered tool designed to assist users in building software projects. It can understand natural language prompts and help create applications from scratch, making software development more accessible to users of all skill levels. AI tools such as ChatGPT and Prometheus can go a long way in assisting a person to use ordinary language to create content. The basic building blocks are, to compose prompts, Test prompts, Optimise prompts, and then collaborate with team members.
5.2 The Power to Automate. The real important step forward is to eliminate repetitive work. Once a person can achieve this it improves a person’s productivity and therefore one’s income potential. Naval Ravikanth explains that it is all about leverage, to achieve success is to multiply one’s output without utilizing more of one’s time. There are three basic areas where one can apply leverage: a) An individual creates digital workers (AI agents) to assist him/her, b) Capital, and c) Code / or content. By combining AI labour and code/content it becomes very lucrative to repeat work once created and to sell the product/service to any number of customers. Examples of AI agents include:
To implement the above there is one more skill set required. Application integration skills are required to put all the above in place. API integration is the process of connecting two or more software systems using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to facilitate seamless data transfer and communication between them.
5.3 The Power to Create.
Kevin Kelly is known for his statement. “The printing press democratised knowledge, the camera democtratised images, and now artificial intelligence is democratising creativity itself.” If you need a logo Midjourney can create one in a minute or less. Another useful tool for creating endless video and image content can be found on replicate.com.
5.4 The Power to Connect. Success will go to those people who can connect to other people/customers. Anyone can build a personal brand, something that showcases their uniqueness, that which makes them stand out in the crowd. Building a following is important and for that one must be creative. The skill of writing is important. Writing is thinking. To write well is to think clearly. That is why it is so hard; -David Mac McCullagh
In conclusion, consider: - The biggest risk: Take no risk at all. Peter Thiel. Thiel is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and political activist. A co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook.
* Kruger is an independent analyst.
** The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of Personal Finance or Independent Newspapers.
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