I attended a conference recently where Michelle Mannering gave a keynote talk on Work 4.0 or the future of work. My takeaway from this presentation is somewhere along the lines of
- ChatGPT and LLM AI models are the first commercially viable and available AI poised to change the nature of work.
- Innovations in automation is something that happens constantly. Calculators caused a similar uproar to ChatGPT when it first debuted.
- A case study is discussed where developers were split into two groups. The group using Github Copilot completed the task a lot faster than the group not using AI. Note, Michelle works for Github.
- Instead of worrying about losing your job to an AI, we should focus on what we can do that AI cannot.
- Humans are still ahead of AI in terms of cooperativity, empathy, creativity and we should focus on our strengths while using automation to their strengths.
- Innovate and find your new niche.
I caught up with her over lunch and asked if there was any difference between this revolution the revolutions of the past and we both agreed that this is happening a lot faster. The computer revolution took decades and web2.0 happened over a few years. ChatGPT seems to have been announced a few months ago and already there are many products and careers being built on top of it.
I think one key that was not discussed in the talk is what happens to society during this transition. Specifically what happens to people who cannot innovate fast enough? I think of the cities like Detroit that have waned due to globalization and outsourcing. I think of the scores of miners that were offered retraining and green jobs but ultimately refused. It is not easy for everyone to change and to learn. Some might call me pessimistic but I chose to think that to have a stable society we need to care about everyone.
If people are facing a loss of purpose, dignity amd income in a timeframe of a few years, we should definitely worry about what they will be doing in the aftermath.