A third of the respondents think there will be more jobs in the future, another third lean towards no great change, and a slightly small 23 percent think there will be fewer jobs. Neutral, optimistic or pessimistic, the respondent comments touch on a wide variety of issues, concerns and benefits from the employment environment in our future.
There will be just as many jobs in our future, but they will much different and will require completely new skills. One important question is, then, are all the people with the old skill sets capable of learning a completely new generation of skills.
Topics include a changing economy, skill sets, training even AI, although I conducted this survey just before ChatGTP burst onto the public stage.
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The word “employment” is outdated. Just like “jobs”. They are metrics of the Industrial Age that have less value in the 21st century. If we think “meaningful work”, then there will be new opportunities. People doing meaningful work in roles that are still unknown, unknowable, and unimaginable today. Canada
Perhaps we will need to redefine what work and play and the boundaries between them in a post AI world. Netherlands
In the long run I hope that this will enable the Human to finally increase soft skills and work on the very important stuff. France
It will give us more time to care for those in need. Denmark
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In the short term, jobs will evolve, but like musical chairs, we will eventually run out of chairs (jobs). Ireland
Nothing is certain, however my opinion is ‘ man is the Lord and machine is the servant’. Nigeria
(The current wave of technology)… may, for the first time, move us towards societies that don’t require 90% of adults to have a job. It will be a long trend, but overall, fewer jobs will be needed. United States
(Employment will increase) .. but conditions will remain precarious. Indonesia
Health is potentially going to have the biggest shakeup with diagnosis and ongoing management of conditions ideally improving. Again the more experienced/educated people will benefit. (no country)
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I would imagine society (people) will re-imagine an economy that everyone is employed and contributing – not through institutional business but through individual productivity. United States
New technologies/industries will offer new employment opportunities that make up for those jobs that disappear. We will probably have a shift in the types of jobs, maybe with a greater demand for roles that require creativity and critical thinking. Sweden
In the past, it has been predicted several times that less employment will result from technical development. So far, this has always been compensated by the emergence of new professions. For the new professions, however, higher qualifications are regularly required. Qualification takes time and is not possible for everyone. Therefore, I expect a reduction, at least for a transitional period. Germany
Jobs will be displaced, and employees will need to be reskilled for the new workforce. However, the number of jobs will remain essentially the same, it is the skills required for these new jobs that will change. United States
I think there will be neither less job opportunities nor more of them. The jobs will only be different. Some might not be needed anymore, but some new will arise. Nevertheless, this situation might cause temporary rise of unemployment until the education system would be able to adapt to the new paradigm and “produce” people with necessary skills. It is very similar to industrial revolution in the 19th century. Czech Republic
For a limited amount of time, jobs will be lost as people hang onto what they knew. Over time, people will find new roles in the new verticals created from the technologies that have become “normal” and people will fill roles not yet defined and imagined. United States
We will see a shift in several job roles but not a job reduction. South Africa
I believe the personal services sector will continue to expand. My son for example can make more money as a bar tender than he could in a mid-range technology sector job. United States
New jobs will appear but for the few that can master technology. Care jobs and artistic performances will also increase. Operational mechanical jobs will tend to disappear. Brazil
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AI and automation may adversely impact job opportunities in the short run. But will new technologies trigger a virtuous circle of innovation and creativity? Will that help create new market spaces and value creation opportunities? I should most definitely think so. India
Technology innovation will complement the human effort, AI will be a complementary engine to human efforts. Nigeria
The overall numbers will probably not be affected , but there will be a bigger differentiation between qualified and unqualified people. In other words AI may replace qualified people as per current criteria and raise the bar for what qualified means. Brazil
The impact of AI on jobs in long run should be neutral. Some will be left behind but more will learn new skills and find new positions created by AI. China
I feel that Ai will offer more possibilities, however a shift in competencies is needed. It will result in new kinds of jobs. So, education needs to adapt, what you learn in school on how to make use of tools, ask the right questions (prompting), interpretation, critical thinking, adaptive skills (being able to shift easily from what is true now to a new truth). Netherlands
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The conversation may need to revolve around whether the ‘lifestyle’ improvements that come from the utilization of AI and other forms of automation are actually good for the planet and people. Australia
Part of the innovation will have to happen because we have no choice (think climate change). Other innovation will happen because we want and can such as going to Mars, re-inventing the healthcare system with AI and blockchain, quantum computers, education in the meta verse, … United States
It does highlight the need for constant learning and the need for multi-disciplinarity in order to adapt and retain relevance in the future. One concern, as highlighted in a response to one of the earlier questions, is that those who depend on AI could end up outsourcing knowledge and inhibiting their own ability to learn. That will impact their own long-term relevance from a work perspective.
The potential for great employment disruption in traditional corporate knowledge work, will be mediated by the shift to a Net-Zero economy. Governments and governmental alliances will have established some level of oversight capability. AI takes immense compute power, and unfettered use of AI will be regulated within Net-Zero frameworks. United States
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We are transitioning out of education->job->retirement to education->job->education->job etc. That means that in contrast to today, your life will no longer be determined by your environment and what you do early on in life but rather throughout your life. Missing the train early on in life (no diploma, bad job, life issues) will no longer mean that forever your life will be an extension of those early events. No, there will be continuously new opportunities to jump on a new train, something extremely rare today. just because of all the new technologies and businesses that will be created.
It will be possible to intentionally (or not) miss the train without being punished for life. No longer needed for women to decide when to have a baby and worry about how that would impact their career. Have the baby when it suits you and take the next train. Go on a sabbatical and take the next train. Discover the world for a year and take the next train. Educate yourself on the next wave and be ready for the next train. Everything is there to make it a wonderful life for everyone. We’ll see what human nature and greed make of it. United States