The year 2023 kicked off with an AI fever. Such was the storm that NVDIA became the first chip maker to hit a $1 trillion valuation. The good fortunes of NVDIA may not be same everywhere. The threat of job losses became apparent.

Just how much can AI do? This was the question probably on your mind and the mind of many others. Photographers and Graphic designers for example are worried about generative Ai Tools like Midjourney that are proving adept at producing images and developing illustrations. DALL-E 3 – powered by the company behind ChatGPT allows users to get refined images

Copywriters and screen writers have not been spared. AI in particular appears to be have hit the creative space. Earlier in the year Gizmodo, a tech blog laid off some of it staff. The layoffs were attributed to AI .

IBM boss Arvind Krishna, has spoken of plans to phase out some workers in favour of the technology. This sentiment is shared among many executives looking for ways to run leaner cost-effective teams.

A March 2023 report from Goldman Sachs estimated that across the European Union and US, 300 million jobs could be lost to AI.

AI Makes You better at Your Job

There are legitimate reasons to have concerns about your job. With the advancement of technology many roles have been rendered obsolete. Remember the switchboard operators, yes those no longer exist.

However, I tend to see any tech piece as a tool. Thus, AI is no different and is just another tool. What you must do at your current role is adapt to AI. Making use of the technology will no doubt make you better at your job.

Content Writing Jobs

Turnaround time is definitely a factor in all forms of professions. Time is money so goes the cliché. Hence, any tool that can help you save time and finish a task quicker makes you better at your job.

This is where Ai comes in. For example, in content writing, AI makes keyword research much faster.

Additionally, it suggests topics around the keywords. Therefore, a writer can quickly find the focus topic and start writing. Quite a good way to solve the problem of a writers block.

Content-optimizing writing assistants give you suggestions on what to add in a post to make it more comprehensive and likely to rank at the top of search engine results. You can even optimize older, underperforming posts quicker.

Other AI tools analyse websites and suggest the best articles for internal linking and the anchor text to use.

For copywriters, Ai tools help you generate captions better. The captions suggestions can be tailored to capture mood, tone and intent. With the suggestions you can quickly create content calendars for a brand. Now writers are able to generate ideas quicker, write faster and optimize content for search engines better.

AI in Data Analysis

AI algorithms can sift through massive amounts of data in a very short time. Further, Ai can point out patterns, discrepancies, and trends that might go unnoticed by human analysts. In addition, data analysis AI tools bring a level of consistency and accuracy that’s hard to achieve manually. Today, there are many such tools including AI Assistant for Microsoft Excel.

While data is important in all professions, not everyone has data analysis skills. Making use of AI tools aids you make better decisions hence, better in your field of expertise.

Enhanced Customer Service and Sales

AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants can provide 24/7 customer support, improving customer satisfaction. In a world that is increasingly digital, AI is a good integration for online platforms.

Customer care representatives are helped by AI to offer quick solutions to clients. This clears space for them to deal with only the most complex problems that need human intervention.

24hr support is important as peak online hours coincide with moments when we are out of office. Hence, making use of AI tool may help a customer find what they would like and make contact with the company. A salesperson can then follow up and convert the prospect into a sale.

AI cross selling and upselling products or services also aids the sales team. For example, in e-commerce, AI can suggest products based on a user’s past purchases, leading to increased sales.

Software programming

GitHub introduced the AI powered Co-pilot. This has proved to be a game changer for developers. Today software production has become easier and projects are taking a shorter time. Indeed, programmers with entry level skills are now able to produce quite robust systems. Co-pilot helps them do so despite lack of advance coding skills and experience.

Google is also introducing additional capabilities to Search Generative Experience making it easier understand and debug generated code. The company points out that this feature will help new or experienced programmers learn more about coding information in AI overviews.

Ride Hailing Apps and Taxi Industry

The transport industry was changed completely when ride hailing apps like Uber and Bolt came into the industry. However, it remained quite annoying to get a taxi driver who barely understands the area you are headed to.

For example, if you are to manoeuvre around the Industrial area of Nairobi you would appreciate a driver who knows the area. In the past, this was the merit one used to chose a taxi driver. If a driver was not well versed with the destination, they lost out on the job.

Now maps have integrated AI making it possible for drivers to comfortable drive around any locality even without familiarity. Moreover, Google Maps utilizes AI algorithms to provide real-time traffic information. Drivers become better at selecting routes when using this tool.

With Ai powered tools, a taxi driver can decide to operate in any area. The decision can be purely based only on potential income rather than familiarity with the area.

Jobs that Won’t be Replaced by AI

While AI will definitely make people better at their jobs, it is no doubt that more people will be let go as a result of it. Nevertheless, it is not all gloom and doom for everyone.

AI isn’t capable of tasks that involve distinctly human qualities, like emotional intelligence and outside-the-box thinking. Thus, switching to this fields that prioritize those skills could help lessen the chances of being replaced.

Jobs that Require Interpersonal Skills

There are jobs that require sophisticated interpersonal relationships. One of those jobs are investigative tasks. This includes investigative journalist and security intelligence personnel. Often, these jobs require one to have real human to human interactions.

Another, is careers like nursing and teaching. Teaching especially for early childhood education requires a deep understanding of human beings. Needless to say, it is impossible to imagine a child who has barely mastered the basics of the alphabet being taught by the current tools availed by AI.

While I am not ruling it out, I think it’ll be a long time before AI has the ability to interact in the kinds of ways.

A Job Needing Mobility and Problem Solving

Then there are jobs that really require lots of mobility and handiness. Additionally, they require and problem-solving ability in an environment that can consistently be changing. This is why a number of blue-collar jobs are seen as safe for the time being,

As such, you are more likely to need an electrician to diagnose a fault on a device for you and make repairs. Indeed, we will still need plumbers to manually do their work especially in terms of repairs.

Other such jobs include: mechanics, painters, lawn mowers, and cleaners.

Some of these jobs require a level of analysis, have hanging scenarios and inconsistent environment and as such are probably the hardest to automate.

For example, lawns or floors are not the same anywhere. Hence, there is no fixed data set which AI can learn from.

Human Interaction Trumps AI in any Job

One thing that is clear is we must embrace AI in our jobs. Embracing AI does not mean it will replace us. Find out what tasks Ai can help you do and integrate it in your work life. It will help you have more time on your hands to do other tasks that AI cannot do. Essentially, AI will make you better.

For example, automation took away the task of counting notes from bank tellers. However, it did not replace bank tellers. Now they have time to offer better customer service to clients and market other bank products.

Additionally, always remember in any profession the basis is human to human interaction. This is where AI cannot compete with you. In Sales, AI can recommend a product to a client but true human interaction has a better chance to convert the sale.

A doctor has to have a good conversation with a patient to discover the cause of an illness. While AI can help in diagnosis, sometimes understanding the cause helps in the treatment. Recently, Jaramogi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kenya announced it will employ AI to improve the quality of cancer treatments. This is a good example of humans using AI to improve the services they offer.

Further, chatbots are useful to keep prospects engaged especially during out of office hours. It takes real human interaction to make follow ups and provide value that will make a prospect become a new client.

In writing, we cannot forget the human aspect. Google has been pushing E-E-A-T. The acronym “E-E-A-T,” stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Today, demonstrating first-hand experience is more important than ever for Google Search rankings. Additionally, AI can write content fast but it is not an expert.

Using AI for Your Money Your Life topics such as healthcare articles can hurt your ranking. It is why for example, Youtube has began verification of Medical content creators.

AI Biases

Moreover, human skills such as empathy, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making remain indispensable and should complement AI tools in the workplace. AI for example can produce biased insensitive content that may paint your brand in bad light

Ai requires proper integration, training, and oversight to ensure it aligns with an organization’s goals and values.

Hence, embrace AI for sure to make your better at your job, but never forget real human interaction is the most important aspect of business.