Every minute, it seems as if someone is talking about how great ChatGPT is. It's going to revolutionize the world! I agree— I am sure AI will revolutionize the world. At some point.
But I think it's going to remove all those busy-work jobs, not the jobs where we, as humans, offer value.
Here's a short test to know if your job will survive the (somewhat) imminent AI revolution:
- Does your job require you to analyze something someone already did?
- Do you then add some kind of value to that analysis?
If AI can analyze in the same way that you do, your job will not survive AI—unless you add some kind of value.
You might add value with synthesis, where you combine several ideas. But beware of simple synthesis, where AI is capable of synthesizing what “everyone” knows.
Here's the problem: “Everyone” doesn't know that. And sometimes, AI lies. Well, we call it lying when a four-year-old with crumbs on his or her face says, “No. I didn't eat the cookie.”
AI's not eating cookies. However, a couple of weeks ago, ChatGPT told someone I wrote an article and gave them a url. However, that url is a big 404 on my site.
I didn't write that article. As far as I can tell, no one has. Certainly not on my site.
If you can't describe how your job is different from AI, your job won't survive. Maybe you'll retire before then, but I'm not going to run that risk. See how you can focus on the unique perspective and value you bring to each interaction. That's how you can protect your job. And probably, get a better job.