Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Bozhanka Vitanova, Founder & CEO at TeamLift . getty AI is poised to replace some jobs, change most and create entirely new ones. While one can be optimistic about the collective long-term outcomes, the reality is that periods of change always produce winners and losers.
The pressing question is: Do we have a say in which category we fall into? Can we influence how this change affects us, or are big tech companies solely dictating our future? Learning From History: The Luddite Lesson To understand our current situation, let's look back at a similar period of technological upheaval: the Industrial Revolution and the Luddite movement. The Luddites , skilled textile workers in 19th-century England, protested against the introduction of machinery that threatened their livelihoods. They famously destroyed textile machines in what is now seen as a futile attempt to stop technological progress.
One could say they were trying to weave their own destiny but ended up spinning their wheels instead. Let's face it—being a Luddite about AI might be about as effective as trying to stop a computer virus with chicken soup! MORE FOR YOU ‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2, Episode 8 Review: A Hugely Underwhelming Season Finale Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Monday, August 5th Slovakian Swimmer Tamara Potocka Collapses After Paris Olympics Race However, history shows us that the Luddites' fears weren't unfounded. Many did lose their jobs and their lives changed dramatically.
Textile workers in 19th-century England had specialized, in-demand skill sets that gave them considerable power. They even famously celebrated " St. Monday ," taking Mondays off to recover from weekend revelries—a luxury unimaginable to many workers today.
Parallels With The AI Revolution Fast forward to today and we're experiencing our own technological revolution. The closest parallel to the Luddites' "St. Mondays" is perhaps the flexibility introduced by the Covid-19 pandemic, which many of us now appreciate: flexible work locations and hours and a greater recognition of individual skills and contributions.
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render(randId); }); })(); However, we can't take these benefits for granted. Destroying nascent AI agents is not a viable solution, so I believe the answer lies in actively participating in creating the new AI reality. The World Economic Forum predicts that "by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced by a shift in the division of labour between humans and machines, while 97 million new roles may emerge.
" Employees can have a say in what gets created and what types of lives we all lead in the new AI world. The danger of not engaging with AI today is arguably higher than the danger of engaging with it. It's the difference between being able to steer your own ship versus hoping for a seat in the lifeboat.
Three Tips To Navigate Change 1. Find your anchor. Navigating change requires a solid foundation.
To gain control over your career path in the age of AI, start by identifying your strengths. Reflect on what you excel at, your accomplishments and the unique contributions others recognize in you. Consider your natural talents and what comes effortlessly to you.
It’s now more important than ever to understand your uniquely human skills. There are a few psychometric assessments that can further help with this. StrengthsFinder and DiSC are great for identifying your strengths and unique traits, while the ISPI assessment helps you understand how you react to change.
Assessments such as my company's Job Impact Analysis can help determine which of your technical skills are least impacted by AI. Spend some time understanding yourself better to create a strong anchor in this evolving landscape. 2.
Upgrade yourself. Have AI work for you. This strategy is often overlooked but is perhaps one of the easiest and most practical approaches.
First, identify AI tools that can augment your existing skills. For example, if you're a graphic designer, explore AI-powered design software like Adobe Sensei that can automate repetitive tasks and generate creative ideas. If you’re a developer, consider automated AI-driven analytics tools like Auto-PyTorch or Auto-Sklearn to find the most appropriate AI pipeline to gain deeper insights into data and enhance your coding efficiency.
3. Reimagine your activities. How can these tools make you better at what you already do well? By leveraging AI tools to enhance your current strengths, you can start your AI transition from a position of confidence and competence.
Select a few and start experimenting with them. One activity that used to take my team and me a long time was updating our website, involving tedious cycles of wording changes and updates in Figma. We discovered several tools that could streamline this process, but many were behind a paywall.
We allocated a small $30 budget to test a few solutions. By dedicating a few hours for a couple of weeks to explore and integrate these tools, we found the most effective solution for our needs. This experience taught us the value of investing time in learning and playing with new tools to enhance our efficiency.
The AI revolution doesn't have to be something that merely happens to us. Unlike the Luddites, who fought against the tide of change, we have the opportunity to ride the wave of AI innovation. By understanding AI's impact on our specific roles and proactively integrating AI tools into our work, we can shape our own futures.
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