Recently, a conversation with a friend prompted me to think about the future of my own career — will I be replaced by a machine? What jobs could be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI)?
The conversation in question was about ChatGPT,.a new AI tool that is taking the internet by storm. Launched in November 2022, the chatbot has already gained a large following and is being hailed as the next big thing.
Designed to replicate human conversation, ChatGPT has been welcomed by many as a convenient and efficient tool in the workplace. However, some people are concerned about the implications of the technology.
Curious about what the technology itself might tell me about its role in the workplace, I asked ChatGPT about its potential for replacing human beings. Its answer was intriguing:
The gist seemed to be that it was designed to complement human workers, not replace them.
But ChatGPT hinted that it could still change the workplace as we know it — by fostering new jobs in areas such as data analysis, machine learning, and programming.
This view was echoed by human experts at Burnaby post-secondary institutions I turned to for answers about the technology.
They noted that while some jobs may be replaced by ChatGPT, the technology will create new opportunities for people. They see the AI tool as a way to free up human workers from mundane tasks so that they can focus on skills such as creativity, critical thinking, empathy and emotional intelligence, which are still crucial in many professions.
So, while I may not be replaced by a ChatGPT any time soon, staying ahead of the latest developments in AI is still important because the future is increasingly looking like a place where we will be working alongside AI.
Let’s break down what ChatGPT is and why everyone is talking about it.
What’s ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an AI program designed to interact with humans through natural language, using communication tools like text input with the user.
“From the user side of things, you can communicate with the program through text input in a browser really simply as if you were sending an email or a chat message,” said Erika Ram, an instructor at the British Columbia Institute of Technology's (BCIT) school of computing and academic studies.
The AI recognizes users' questions or statements and provides a relevant response.
How does it work?
ChatGPT) uses deep learning to generate human-like text responses. It uses a probabilistic model to predict its answers — so for any question you ask, it generates an answer predicting the next sequence of words.
In order to generate the text, Ram said, the AI uses existing data (such as books, articles, websites, and other sources) rather than creating new data — and is limited to pre-2021 data, so if you want to ask about current affairs or current political situations, you won't have much luck.
Industries are likely to evolve and change with AI tools
In Ram's opinion, ChatGPT's benefits outweigh its limitations. For instance, as the world integrates AI into daily work routines, it will allow people to work more efficiently and productively, which in turn prompts more industries to adapt to new technologies.
“I think we're going to see more tasks being automated,” she said. “We've already seen things like customer service, where they're using chatbots and virtual assistants.... With these generative AI tools coming out, those chatbots and virtual assistants are only going to get better.”
ChatGPT in creative industries
In addition, Ram said, we could see a significant impact on writing tasks — even though the writing wouldn’t reflect any social context or emotions, it could serve as a starting point for a writer to build from.
While AI is capable of doing tasks, especially writing, accurately, Ram stressed that it is not creative, empathetic or capable of solving problems — areas where humans are indispensable. Human beings would still be required to add a human touch to them.
“I tend to tell people that generative AI has the potential to change the way that we work,” Ram said. “It can be a really useful tool, but it is just a tool.”
ChatGPT in academics and education
Experts think that in the initial stages of the development and employment of these AI tools, perhaps the biggest immediate impact could be in the education industry.
Terri Griffith, Keith Beedie chair in innovation and entrepreneurship at Simon Fraser University's (SFU) Beedie school of business, said that with students having easy access to ChatGPT, it is time to reconsider the way assignments are given, allowing them to make use of these tools efficiently while maintaining academic integrity.
“I make really clear in my class, [using AI tools] is not cheating,” she says. “But I also have to rethink the kinds of assignments that will provide value to my students.” “The AI does a great job if you give it a good prompt. So maybe what I need to be teaching is how do you design a prompt for the AI such that the AI will make the best outcomes for us.”
According to Griffith, universities will have to rethink their academic integrity policies, so students can include AI tools when citing sources, since education and science rely on tracking where information comes from.
“My university has a very clear academic integrity policy and one of the main issues is, you cannot mislead us about where you got the information or who did the writing,” she said.
“So an adjustment I think we're going to need to make is to say to people, 'You've got to tell me what tools you used.' Maybe in some courses it'll be, 'Tell me the tool you use, tell me the prompts you use.'
"We'll have to adjust what we expect [from students]. Maybe, [citations] won't look like a reference list anymore. Maybe it's going to look something very different — more difficult.”
ChatGPT in sales, marketing and customer service
According to a report based on a AI in Customer Experience Customer Survey by Capgemini Research Institute in 2020, more customers preferred AI-only engagements in the early stages of their customer journey — researching, browsing, and purchasing.
Forty-one per cent of consumers surveyed in over 12 countries preferred AI support while researching and browsing, compared with 25 per cent in 2018.
While making a purchase, 26 per cent preferred AI support compared to 14 per cent in 2018.
The report also found, however, that preferences for human interaction rose as the sales process progressed, Only 14% of customers preferred AI-only engagements for after-sales support.
Bruce Anthony, professional sales diploma program head at BCIT, suggests that while AI can perform repetitive or simple sales tasks, more intricate sales and service problems would still require that human interaction — especially in business-to-business (B2B) sales roles where problems and interactions are more complex.
Anthony said companies can embrace AI to improve their business as they adapt to growth and innovation, though when it comes to seeking out new customers and managing customer relationships — the backbone of customer service — human beings are irreplacable.
A B.C. labour market outlook released earlier this year noted that there will be just over one million job openings in the next 10 years in British Columbia. Anthony said this mean the availability of over 200,000 jobs in sales and service jobs in B.C. in the next 10 years.
“So with the B.C. jobs outlook, the No. 1 skill that is in a long list of skills to look at is active listening. Someone who is able to listen to another human being and identify problems [are] important skills,” he said.
