2023 is the year of generative AI. The technology has erupted from the domain of in-the-know tech professionals and has entered mainstream awareness and usage.
ChatGPT in particular has captured the attention of the masses. Created by OpenAI, its CEO Sam Altman said in a Twitter post that the platform had more than one million users in the first five days after launch.
McKinsey says this is AI's "breakout" year with adoption rocketing. Nearly a quarter of C-suite executives say that they are personally using gen AI tools for work, with 40% indicating that their organizations will increase their investment in AI overall, thanks to advances in generative AI.
Of course, it is not all smooth sailing. Experts have sounded alarm bells around the potential risks of generative AI.
"ChatGPT is scary good. We are not far from dangerously strong AI," Elon Musk has said. Musk was also one of the signatories of a recent open letter which warned that AI poses "profound risks to society and humanity".
"Godfather of AI", Dr Geoffrey Hinton also warned on his retirement from Google that the "scary" chatbots he helped create during his tenure at the tech giant could become more intelligent than humans.
And new research from Purdue University found that ChatGPT's accuracy, conciseness, and consistency are in question, with the study finding that 52% of ChatGPT's answers are incorrect, and 77% are verbose.
Job security fears
One of the biggest fears workers have is around their job security. As report after report emerges on the rise of this technology, the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023 found that 23% of jobs globally will change in the next five years.
It expects 69 million new jobs to be created--however 83 million will be eliminated, which results in a net decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2% of current employment.
Other jobs will change radically. According to a new report by McKinsey, generative AI has the potential to automate between 60% to 70% of the work that most of us engage in every day, particularly with regards to the work done by those working within sales and marketing, customer service, software engineering, and research and development.
For example, one study found that software developers using Microsoft's GitHub Copilot (an AI pair programmer that helps users write code faster and with less work) completed tasks 56% faster than those not using the tool.
For many knowledge workers, generative AI tools are likely to free up their time, taking away tedious tasks and leaving more space for creative or deep work. McKinsey's report authors say that "...we see generative AI enhancing the way STEM, creative, and business and legal professionals work rather than eliminating a significant number of jobs outright."
Upskill for the future
This period represents a good time for knowledge workers to upskill and develop ways of working with generative AI tools to deliver business success. In fact, McKinsey says that generative AI has the potential to generate $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion in value across industries.
Being first represents an advantage so if you feel like the company you currently work for isn't moving with the times, it could be time to look for an opportunity elsewhere. If that is the case, the Tech Times Job Board features thousands of jobs in progressive companies that are actively hiring, like the three below.
Application Developer, ENSCO, Inc., Endicott
ENSCO Avionics is looking for an Application Developer to be involved in developing and maintaining C# applications, implementing SQL tools, and displaying applications through AWS. This is an opportunity to advance humankind through technological and scientific discovery, and work collaboratively to help develop cutting-edge technology and inventions that make future dreams a reality. You'll need a Bachelor of science degree, plus three years' related experience. You must hold a minimum level of secret security clearance too.
Principal Software QA Engineer - Web, Tandem Diabetes Care Inc., San Diego
Tandem Diabetes Care is hiring for a Principal Software QA Engineer - Web, where you will need domain expertise in web and mobile application software. You'll use your strong technical background and understanding of software lifecycle development, quality processes, and risk management activities, and demonstrate technical expertise on a high visibility system with complex components. You'll require a Bachelor's degree in engineering or computer sciences or a related field, plus 12 years of experience. Expertise in web and mobile application software development, and experience in design controls and risk management for medical device development, is also necessary.
Senior .Net Engineer, Alliance Inspection Management, LLC, Farmington Hills
As a Senior .Net Engineer, you enjoy working across the full stack and with multiple technologies, and will be passionate about creating, maintaining, reviewing, and implementing code. You should be naturally curious, a problem solver, and a collaborator who consistently delivers results following the scrum process. Additionally you'll deliver functioning software into production every two weeks, be able to produce application flow diagrams and system documentation, and participate in deployment efforts for both UAT and production.
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