AI may not be the boogeyman employees fear.
A recent report from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) showed that economic conditions, not AI, are the real enemy employees must face in the workplace if they wish to keep their job.
The study contradicts the findings of the report Challenger, Gray, and Christmas (Challenger) published sometime in early June.
AI Isn't The Job Killer
The report HSBC published on June 18 stated that slower economic growth, a rising cost of living, a supply chain crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic are the main reasons people are losing jobs, per Business Insider.
The report, citing information from the World Economic Forum's (WEF) study, "The Future of Jobs Report 2023," stated that 50% of the 803 companies the WEF surveyed believe slower economic growth will displace jobs. Meanwhile, 50% of the firms surveyed believe that new technologies, such as AI, will actually be job creators in the future instead of destroyers as some employees believe.
The WEF also learned slightly half of the companies the WEF surveyed believe the emerging AI technologies will lead to new jobs instead of losing jobs to it.
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A Microsoft survey also done in May showed that most workers are comfortable with AI taking over part of their jobs, especially the repetitive tasks that can be delegated. Needless to say, the surveyed workers are not okay with AI replacing them outright.
"The challenges are clear - weaker economic growth and general shortages in supply or demand mean that many firms expect to operate with fewer workers," HSBC analysts said in the report, per CNBC.
Loss And Gain
Despite these findings, however, 25% of HSBC's respondents believed AI would cost human jobs, with some already falling into the group of being replaced by it. This statement is evidenced by Challenger's report, which states that around 4,000 people have lost their jobs due to advancements in AI from all the layoffs that occurred in May alone.
Many companies have also replaced people with AI, seeing the technology as cheaper and more efficient than hiring/contracting someone. You may recall that two writers have already lost their jobs to AI tools like ChatGPT, while other workers in various sectors are also at risk of losing their jobs to AI in the foreseeable future.
Regardless, HSBC's study wants people to stop being concerned over worries about AI replacing jobs. Instead, they should think about the quality and nature of the jobs AI will create and if the workforce has enough people with the right skills to fill the new jobs AI will create.
As the saying goes, "One door closes, another opens." As AI takes over some jobs, people must be creative in living with AI rather than going against its takeover. From that same node of thought, people can specialize and choose jobs that AI couldn't replace or have something to do with them.
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