A few years ago I was watching a very interesting BBC scifi series called ‘Humans’. The very first episode started with some riots happening during a protest against the rise of the robots on the working force and the subsequent huge unemployment rates that followed. As I watching the scene unfold I thought ‘Hmm… Interesting. How many years are we away from something like this actually happening?’. And here we are. Today. Now. Or are we?
Are we entering the Skynet era?
The rise of the AI is a rise no more. It has already been established on our reality. For more than a year officialy, but unofficialy I suspect longer, infant AI has been a part of our lives. And even on this infant state it has caused some considerable changes and great controversy.
Some people have fallen head over heels with AI. They dream of an AI paradise where all the tedious and not so tedious work will be carried out by Artificial Intelligence and they will just sit there, enjoying the fruits of its labor. Probably sunbathing on a exotic beach, drinking their pina collada and checking their electronic wallet for the continuous flux of incoming profit. At least that is what all those ads poping out on all social media promise for you and me. Our days of hardship our over. We just need to click that button and buy their 100% certain to help us succeed the luxurious life we aspire, guide.
The reality is a kind of different. For the time being the hype is proportionally way bigger than the actual results. And I say this as someone who has been using AI and mainly ChatGPT from day one. And I mean that. I started with ChatGPT since the first day it was officially launched to the public domain.
My job is a UX/UI Designer and I also know front end development. And, yes, I do still have a job and, no, I do not feel threatened. However I am not writing this article from an exotic beach drinking margaritas and counting my AI blessings and bitcoins. But I do confress. AI has helpled me. A lot. I have been using it as a kind of Artificial Assistant for some automated tasks. And it has been great with that. But for the most creative ones… hmmm… I think it still has a long way to go.
Now don’t get me wrong, I do see the potential and I do understand we are talking about an infant, a bit older than one year. But as far as it concerns AI creativity I usually have to go through everything and make some considerable corrections and quite a few revisions until I get the result I want. But that’s just me. Little miss perfectionist.
The dark side of the AI moon
On the dark side of things the big bad wolf of AI looks like it is threatening some professions but that also depends on the context. For example some copywriters have lost their job because the firm they were working deciding to cut down costs and use AI as a copywriter instead. After a few months they were asked to return as editors with half the salary they had before just to review and correct all the mistakes AI did when doing the job they previous did. But would you like to work for a firm like that? And also I do know other copywriters who use AI in their everyday job as an assistant. And very successfully, I may add.
All and all is AI a threat to our professional life? Are we getting to get sacked because of an advanced software? As I already said depends how you see it. If you work for a shitty company which only aims at increasing its profits even if that means lowering the quality of the services it offers, yes your job is at stake. But maybe by losing that shitty job you will be motivated to find a better one.
Should you be afraid of the big bad wolf?
At the very end AI is not here to destroy you, nor to make you a billionaire in a week’s time. Use it wisely and you have only to gain. Or don’t use it at all. It is your choice. But whatever you do don’t be afraid of the big bad wolf.
