Experts calm fears over impact AI could have on jobs

NATICK – With the rise of artificial intelligence, it seems as though our fears of AI taking over our jobs has also risen. At the Natick Mall, there is now an interactive “Black Mirror” game people can play that shows what you can do once AI becomes all-consuming.

The game is all tongue-in-cheek of course, but the panic over digital domination is all too real.

Fear of AI

“There’s a lot of hype right now with artificial intelligence in business, and that hype seems to have one or two flavors. It’s either ‘oh my gosh, Chicken Little the sky is falling,’ or ‘oh it’s wonderful, and it’s going to change everything.’ And we’re somewhere between the two,” said Sam Ransbotham, Boston College Professor of Analytics.

Ransbotham is looking to soothe any nerves or worry about artificial intelligence, and talks about the benefits in his podcast called “You, Me, and AI.” He said AI could take over many of the tasks we find annoying, and not necessarily the ones that will take our jobs.

“One of the things we did in our research was we asked people are you scared artificial intelligence is going to take your job, or do hope it’s going to take some of your job,” Ransbotham said. “73% of the people were hopeful that it would take parts of their job.”

Ransbotham says AI is a tool, and with any tool it all depends on who can use it the best.

“It’s not so much that the machines are going to take over your job entirely,” he said. “What’s more of a danger is that someone else who’s better at using artificial intelligence will take away your job.”

Companies using AI

CEO and Co-Founder Eli Finkelshteyn of AI business “Constructor” describes his company as a product discovery platform for E-commerce. They use AI to customize the shopping experience, and he said it’s his job to make sure it’s “personalized to the user.”

Finkelshteyn’s company works with some of the largest retailers in the world, including Sephora and Under Armour. He said he has not seen any job fallouts from AI. 

“Out of all of those retailers that we work with, I can’t think of a single one where they did layoffs of people that used to do something that Constructor does,” Finkelshteyn said. 

As for the future of jobs and AI, Ransbotham admits much is unknown but believes humans are in control and not the ones and the zeros. 

“The first caveman picked up a rock and they either clonked a zog on the head with it, or they used it to build a hut,” Ransbotham said. “Technology is a tool and it depends so much on how we use it.”