Shaping Your Career in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, Part 1

The AI technology revolution is here…

What’s the right career strategy for navigating it?

I only vaguely considered this question before ChatGPT was introduced at the end of November 2022.

Now I think about it often, and I’ve lost at least a couple hours' sleep over it.

I’ll admit I find generative AI to be an extremely valuable tool. It can quickly complete many practical tasks, and people use it in creative ways as well.

Here’s an example. Dark, right?

Despite its usefulness, no, BECAUSE of its usefulness, the technology raises alarm bells.

Sounds crazy. Right?

But this is a statement posted by the Center for AI Safety and signed by Sam Altman, the CEO of the company that created ChatGPT. AI experts, the CEOs of other leading AI firms, and notable figures, including Bill Gates, have also signed it.

Let me pause here. This is serious.

The people who are on the cutting edge of this technology believe it’s a risk to the human species on the same level as nuclear war. Wow!

It’s tempting to stop this article right here, say “good luck folks” and go hide in my underground bunker. But since I don’t have an underground bunker, let’s keep going.

More central to the concerns of this newsletter is the impact AI could have on the workforce and careers.

McKinsey recently released a report about The Economic Potential of Generative AI. According to the report, right now, AI technology is capable of automating 60 - 70% of today’s work tasks.

But we’re not done yet.

The technology continues to advance.

By 2045 (only 22 years from now!) the authors believe the technology may be able to automate almost all of today’s work tasks.

Think about that.

Whatever you do in your job today, in 17 years, AI may be capable of doing almost all of it.

McKinsey expects adoption to lag the technology’s capabilities. It will take the world a while to understand what AI can do and put it to work.

They predict that we’ll automate 50% of today’s work activities sometime between 2030 and 2060.

But in the US, they believe we could automate 50% of today’s work tasks as early as this decade.

If I’m doing my math correctly, that means in the next 6 1/2 years.

And, the biggest impact is likely to be on knowledge workers. Yep, you and me.

How could AI affect your job and career?

Here are a few possibilities:

a) Change your job as you know it by taking on some tasks you do now.

b) Eliminate your job by taking on all of your current responsibilities.

c) Make career choices difficult. It’s hard to know exactly where AI will have the biggest impact, so how will you decide what types of career investments will pay off?

d) Improve your job and make you more productive. If you learn to leverage it well, it could free up your time for more creative or strategic work.

I have great faith in our ability to adapt to technological advances.

Throughout human history, new technology has improved life and changed our work. We’ve always adapted in the past.

What’s different this time and causes me to lose sleep is the pace of technological change.

This technology is moving forward at an extremely rapid and unpredictable pace. Many workers may be slow to adapt. Many may get left behind.

As I talk with people, I hear different reactions to this new technology. Some of them don’t serve us well.

Three reactions to AI that don’t serve us well:

1. Panic - It’s hard to blame people for panicking. The risks of AI are being compared to nuclear war, for goodness’ sakes. But panicking won’t help us make good decisions.

2. Ignoring it and hoping it will go away - “AI is just a fad”, I’ve heard from some. They assume the hype will die down and eventually we’ll move on to the next thing. But like the internet revolution, the power of this technology is too promising for that to happen. Companies and governments who best leverage the power of AI will have a huge competitive advantage. Those who leverage it poorly may not survive.

3. Assuming everything will work out fine - While we shouldn’t panic, AI presents genuine risks. We must be aware of them and do what’s in our power to manage them. If we fail to prepare we could be left behind or worse.

So, how should we respond? Tune in next week to read my perspective.

I’d like to hear your thoughts about how AI will impact your career. Please share them in this quick survey.

Thanks for reading Career Thriving! This is a brand new newsletter where I’ll share inspiration and actionable ideas to help you build a successful career without sacrificing the rest of your life. Forward this email to anyone who will find it useful. If this email was forwarded to you, subscribe below:

Follow me on LinkedIn and Twitter.