While you don’t want to seem Luddite, there is a buzz about AI usurping jobs in the future. There is speculation that technology will have some jobs completely removed shortly. This topic is becoming a buzzword in every conversation. Is there anything to worry about? Should you be concerned? Of course, every change is inevitable. The world has seen how the invention of computers has removed typewriters and this is not a new phenomenon, as the world gets technologically advanced, such things will happen. Computers made things easier and faster and work was done with accuracy and precision. Mistakes were reduced greatly and it brought a sigh of relief for most of the workforce. Needless to say, humans have always adapted to change. Upskilling and working on attaining new goals has always been part of the human race. There is nothing to panic about about losing your job as the world gets even more technologically advanced; however, it is wise to stay prepared for what is coming. Here are the jobs that can’t be replaced by technology.
Human intelligence is unique and an AI can never mimic it. No matter how advanced technology is, it still needs humans to make the innovation and improvements. The vast majority of people believe that even though technology takes most of the jobs, there will still be systems in place to work around it, just as it has been doing in every generational transition. The world is changing and you need to change too and keep up with the transitional change that technology will bring to the forefront. Love it or hate it, technology is here to stay and a lot of work that requires repetitive work will start to lose its hold in the job market. Such jobs are those that require low-skill jobs and some high-skill jobs as well. It’s good to assess and know from an expert if your job comes under this category so that preparation can be done for not falling under this category. The expert advice is also not a hundred percent accurate but it does indicate what might happen if AI comes to the forefront in a massive way
Before getting into jobs that can’t be replaced by technology one has to look into this argument while making this speculation of which jobs are safe from automation.
Some jobs have a greater chance of not being automated but this also is not future-proof as it depends on the variation of the jobs. For instance, a writer’s job is estimated to be safe for now. But the kind of writers is also taken into consideration while making that speculation. There are all types of writers like some may be novel writers, some might write news stories or blog posts and some manage content. Therefore the job titles that will be automated cannot fully be predicted as one cannot take a job title into one size fits all approach.
Now since that’s understood, let’s look at the jobs that are considered safe from the technology replacement.
One should not forget the fact that there are so many things technology cannot do those humans can. For instance, it cannot use emotional intelligence, have a contextual understanding, and make judgment calls. Technology can’t interpret meanings and situations like a human. Any job that needs our five senses that is smell, hear, see, taste, feel is something that technology cannot emulate (at least for now).
Can you think of an AI tasting the food and giving reviews about it? That’s hard to imagine.
Imagination is also something an AI is incapable of. Only a human has the power of imagination, analyzing, and having empathy. Technology does not do good in the feelings department at least not yet. In short, any job that requires our right brain will not be taken over by AI. Those who have a right hemisphere dominant excels in arts. The right brain is visual and intuitive. It is known for creativity and imagination, intuition and holistic thinking, arts and feeling visualization, non-verbal cues, rhythm, daydreaming, emotions. Now think of a technology replicating that, it can’t at least not yet. The artistic side of the brain cannot be emulated by technology as of now, so it is safe to say that such jobs will remain and jobs that require non -cognitive skills like emotional intelligence and jobs that require your hands and anything requiring discovery, creativity, and innovation in such fields, technology cannot be taught to do it. This side of human intelligence is hard to copy though maybe in the distant future it may be possible but not in the foreseeable future. Also, any jobs that need a human touch will not be automated for the simple reason that it requires a human touch to it.
Jobs that cannot be automated fully by technology
1. Jobs that deal with chiropractic care:– These involve using hands. They use hands-on spinal manipulation which helps to restore movements to joints that may have been caused by injury by falling or caused due to sitting without proper back support. It deals with the proper alignment of the musculoskeletal structure of the spine and this causes the body to heal itself without the need for surgery or medicines.
2. Landscaping:- This job is a part of gardening but it is much broader than that. Landscapers purposefully design and create or maintain a landscape to bring out the aesthetic beauty of the place. They use both sources, natural and man-made elements to beautify the place. It is a good career option to take if you have a knack for it and the best part is that it is safe from automation.
3. Plumber:- for plumbing, you will require hands to fit those pipes. A human hand will be the most efficient for that. So the plumbing job is safe for now.
4. Electrician:- The same goes for electrical works. At the end of the day, human intelligence and labor are the most efficient for this type of work.
4. Human Resource Managers:- As the title suggests, only a human can handle this work. It has a 0.55 % chance of getting automated because it takes interpersonal skills to manage people and solve the conflict using non-cognitive reasoning skills and technology lacks that ability. Yes, technology can make the job of a human resource manager easier by the various apps that aid an HR manager but it has very little chance of replacing an HR manager with technology.
5. Sales Manager:- The job of a sales manager has to do with negotiating with various groups of people and arriving at a consensus. They need a huge amount of emotional intelligence to execute their work. The level of networking and collaboration they do along with motivating and influencing the larger sales team is not a thing machines can do. The skill to analyze and interpret trends is what they do and for this, a high level of intelligence is needed. Also the high adaptability this job demands, all this factor makes this job not possible for automation.
6. Marketing Managers:- Here too, the need for interpreting data, lookout for new trends, and managing and creating campaigns makes it impossible to automate it. The need for adapting and responding to situational changes or gathering feedback from companies or customers makes it a human-centric career.
7. Public Relations Managers:- This career as the name suggests is relational by nature. Technology will only go so far here because public relations managers work on raising awareness on an issue or on following a purpose which only a human touch can fulfill its objectives of wooing people to get to participate in that cause.
8. Chief Executives:- Those executives at the top are responsible for strategizing projects and being representative of the company’s values and objectives. They are needed to influence and motivate teams working for them. They require good leadership skills to execute their jobs. A robot cannot fit this role perfectly, it’s highly doubtful so automation of this job is not possible.
9. Event Planners:- This job title requires a lot of interaction with people and it involves a planning process that requires negotiations and coordination to make any event stand out. With the high level of organizational and people skills involved, this job is better off in the hands of a human. So the chances of automation are pretty slim.
10. Writers:- Any job that needs artistic expression is safe from automation. To create and write unique content like in a blog post, books, plays, and movies will remain in the hands of humans for the foreseeable future.
11. Software Developers:- They create applications, software, and websites according to their customer’s preference, this skill will be pretty tough to replicate by a technology.
12. Editors:- At the end of the day, a human editor is needed to check the writer’s submission for clarity, to check comprehension and originality, a human touch is required.
13. Graphic Designers:- The work of a graphic designer is both technical and artistic at the same time. This makes it hard to automate. This work requires originality and it is created according to the instructions given by a client, so this work requires a human artist and editor to get the job done. There is no question of AIs in the equation. It looks safe for now.
14. Clergyman/pastors:- Humans love to listen to real human struggles and how they overcame them through a human perspective. A religious leader leads people by their inspirational living which AI won’t be able to do. Can you imagine robots giving a sermon to humans and humans attending those meetings? With this being said, this job remains with humans unless humans get comfortable with a machine teaching them to follow the right path of morality and purity.
15. Painters:- Can an AI imagine and interpret to make meaningful art like humans. No.
16. Police officers:- Policing needs a high level of interpersonal skills. Police work closely with communities so relationship-building mechanisms need to be there, which an AI lacks. So, this job remains safe for now.
17. Bodyguards:- This job requires both mental and physical strength. Which an AI can’t replicate.
18. TV News Presenters:- people would still prefer a human voice over AI.
19. Actors/musicians:- Can an AI replace actors. No way. The level of exuding emotions on the level of a human. Acting is all about emotions, manipulation, and convincing the audience. To date, no AI has been invented that can do that. As for a musician, creating music that can touch the heart and soul is something only a human does.
20. Politicians:- The job of a politician remains safe from automation.
21. Magicians:- This job requires creativity with all the subtleties that involve requiring polishing and naturalism. This job remains with humans.
22. Educators:- This job will not be replaced by a machine completely because people love to learn from people mostly and another genuine reason is that humans are not self-learning at the early stages of development.
23. Chefs:- It requires creativity to make different types of cuisine and also because people want food made with human hands and not from machines, so you can say this job is safe. For example:- a sushi chef.
24. Sportsperson:- To date, technology has influenced and helped its performance. There is no chance of coaches or sportspeople being replaced, maybe AI assistant coaches but not others.
25. Counselors:- Any job that has to make a decision based on human experiences cannot be replaced by AI( at least not yet). The human mind is something that has intrigued scientists for ages, yet it hasn’t been able to discover it to the fullest. Jobs that deal with the intricacies of the human mind like psychiatrists or psychologists face no competition from technology taking over their jobs. So, this is a safe job to have for now.
Okay, these are some of the jobs that are safe from automation. However, the fact remains that some jobs are already in the process of automation. Here are some ways to future-proof your job in that case.
- Develop strong emotional intelligence and leadership skills. These are skills a machine cannot replace.
- Invest in courses that improve your creative skills. For instance, I like taking courses in writing, public speaking, and graphic designing. When you combine logistic and creative skills, you become irreplaceable.
- This is the right moment to turn your hobbies into a steady income. If you loved dancing or anything artistic, explore it more or if you love to make artsy things, innovate ways to earn from your handcrafted products.
- People love customized stuff rather than Machine-made ones, the technology advancement will boost more demand for handcrafted items.
- People are already taking advantage of it by using websites like Etsy to market their handmade items.
- Develop those entrepreneurial sides of you. Because no matter how advance a technology may get, entrepreneurs and top-level managers will remain.
- People will still want to make deals with humans and at least most of the people will not be comfortable making deals with a machine(at least not yet).
- Future-proofing your existing career will help those whose jobs have high chances of automation. Those skills that an AI can replicate like applied intelligence or low-skilled jobs like truck driving, delivery, basically any job that requires repetition will be replaced by AI soon.
Sure, bots make work easier for humans. And many sales and marketing or artistic jobs are already taking the assistance of technology in their work. And AI is doing a better job in some fields like sales and marketing than humans. Technological advancement has not been able to develop human-level sensory systems(at least not yet), therefore any occupation related to vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, and balance will not be affected.
Conclusion
One also cannot ignore the fact that machines will replace some jobs in the future. It’s a part and parcel of this technological revolution. But the good part is that some new careers might be created out of it all. Through this automation, humans can focus on work they are more passionate about and leave the time-consuming task to the technology.
This leaves room to create more meaningful jobs for humans. Technology can do those monotonous and repetitive tasks but cannot replace humans’ adaptability and certain kinds of mobility. Another thing is that technology cannot replace a human’s wisdom. It can learn applied knowledge but not wisdom. So the bottom line is that technological advancement may remove some jobs totally but it can also create new ones plus it can usher us into a new era of genuine productivity. These might bring a better, healthier society where people will have time to spend on more passionate things and concentrate on things that they love. There is a hope that it will only free us from those mundane tasks and allow us to have a new relationship with work that is more fulfilling and beneficial.
