AI will mean no one has to work

(Web Desk) Billionaire tech maverick Elon Musk has suggested that eventually no one will have to work thanks to the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), Daily Mail reported.

But how far away is such a possibility? And which jobs will robots take first?

MailOnline takes a look at the professions where AI already has a foothold, as well as the posts which could be replaced in 10 and 20 years’ time.

Meat packers, cleaners and builders are among those that could be ousted by machines in the not-too-distant future, according to experts, while teachers, nurses and fashion designers are safe for now.

Speculation about the impact of AI on the workforce has swirled following the rise of computer software such as ChatGPT, which can create text and answer questions in a human-like fashion.

Jobs robots are taking now

Call centre operatives

Experts say customer service roles across the world are already being taken by artificial intelligence.

Swedish furniture giant IKEA, for example, says 47 per cent of customer calls are now handled by an AI called Billie, while the telecommunications giant has vowed to replace 10,000 jobs with robots.

‘The jobs of call centre operatives and telemarketers are among the ones most likely to be replaced by AI,’ Professor Carl Benedikt Frey, future of-work director at the Oxford Martin School, Oxford University, told MailOnline.

‘Technologies like ChatGPT are very good at reproducing human interactions in the virtual world.

‘However, this is only going to make in-person interactions, which cannot be automated, more important.’

Veteran advertising executive Sir Martin Sorrell has gone so far as to predict that all call centres will soon disappear with the development of AI.

Graphic designers and software engineers

Vacancies for graphic designers have plummeted by 58 per cent since 2022, according to analysis by job site Adzuna.

The company blamed this partly on the rise of chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, which have also stolen work from IT support analysts, web designers and software engineers.

Roles for the latter fell by 57 per cent, from 20,193 vacancies in 2022 to 8,644 this year, suggesting that companies are seeking out artificial intelligence to fill many of the jobs previously done by humans.

Copy editors

As discussed above, Generative AI is a big problem for us humans. Such are the advancements in this particular field that some chatbots like ChatGPT are able to create content indistinguishable from work done by people.

Not only that, but they can do it faster. A lot faster.

Human copywriters might take up to 90 minutes to write a piece that takes AI less than 10 minutes, which is why some firms are giving it a try.

Dean Meadowcroft was a copywriter in a small marketing department but was laid off four months after the company brought in AI to help with writing press releases, social media posts and other content.

Jonathan Nelson, a senior digital marketing manager of growth for the American Marketing Association, also offered an insight into how companies are experimenting with the new tool.

‘You have AI write a 1,000-word article, and then go through and edit it to make it sound human again,’ he said.

‘It’s a framework for articles.’

Cleaners and security guards

AI-powered robots are already in development that can act as security guards, hospital cleaners and even take over the job of staff in care homes.

The android developed by Aeolus Robotics has been used to great success in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where it has been employed by some of the countries’ biggest care providers to do the rounds.

It could also soon be coming to Britain, with the Japanese firm having confirmed that it is looking to expand into the UK and is in talks with distributors and partners.

Meat packers

The manufacturing sector – including car plants – has relied on robots for years, but the food processing industry has been a bit slower to pick up on the technology.

Not anymore though, it seems. Robots are now being used to transport heavy animal carcasses and to stack and move boxes for delivery.

AI ‘cutting machines’ have also been trialled to varying success, with some unable to match the precise cuts done by butchers or tell the difference between skin, fat, bone and meat in chicken and turkey-processing plants.

But even that is starting to change.

While robots can’t address every task on the meat processing line, they’re increasingly able to perform the bulk of them, including carrying out certain work on meat, as well as measuring and packaging it.