Generative AI and the Jobs that it Creates

In 2012, the McKinsey Global Institute estimated that knowledge workers – people whose job involves handling or using information – spent about one day per work week searching for and gathering information. That may change, if organisations start adopting Generative AI in their work processes. 

A recent internal study done by Straits Interactive found that five departments that used Chatgpt to facilitate work, reported a decrease in time taken for 43 business processes across different departments by 62%. This isn’t surprising, seeing how Generative AI apps such as Chatgpt are able to produce, in a flash, work that used to require tedious amounts of time. 

A McKinsey report in June 2023 suggested that generative AI would have more impact on higher-wage knowledge workers than on other types of work. This doesn’t necessarily mean that jobs will be lost – it just means a transformation in the way we work. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for knowledge workers. While generative AI could automate some parts of work, it is also opening a host of different jobs that sit within the scope of generative AI.

The New Jobs of Generative AI

An article in The Straits Times spoke about a $445,000 job for an “AI Whisperer”, and Time also published a similar story earlier this year about AI jobs that pay up to $355K without a computer engineering background. These jobs point to prompt engineering, which according to Upwork, involves  “crafting input prompts can help the language model understand the information about the input (context) and your desired output.”

Besides prompt engineering, there are also other emerging jobs on the back of Generative AI such as Generative AI software engineers, data annotation specialists,  and AI fact-checkers. 

New specialised roles are also emerging around managing AI responsibly. Alvin Toh, CMO at Straits Interactive provided such an example. “In product development, for instance, there is a demand for Generative AI developers who are skilled in incorporating ethical controls into their machine learning models early. There is also demand for AI business professionals who determine practical applications of AI for companies, and are able to measure tangible impacts,” he says. 

As AI becomes ubiquitous, what would also grow in tandem is the need for more data privacy, data protection, and data governance officers to assess ethical risks, avoid legal pitfalls and ensure transparency. “Understanding AI governance will be vital in anticipation of impending global AI regulations currently being considered by governments worldwide in 2023,” Alvin says. 

Skill Up to Keep Yourself One Step Ahead of the Game

With the Generative AI industry and the regulatory landscape still evolving, it is imperative to keep a step ahead of the game by skilling up so that your skills do not become obsolete. 

Generative AI is unlikely to be a flash-in-the-pan fad, with the amounts of money organisations are investing in it. 

AI may not replace you, but as the industry continues to evolve, the people who know how to harness AI, will. Skill up as an AI Business professional who can help steer organisations in the right direction to maximise this wave responsibly, or sign up for the six-module Advanced Certificate in Generative AI, Ethics and Data Protection for more in-depth training.