TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024

ChatGPT took their jobs. Now they walk dogs and fix air conditioners.

ChatGPT took their jobs. Now they walk dogs and fix air conditioners.

The advent of ChatGPT, an advanced chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI), is reshaping the job market, causing upheaval among copywriters and content creators who find themselves increasingly replaced by the technology. The impact of this AI revolution is illustrated by the experiences of Olivia Lipkin, a 25-year-old copywriter based in San Francisco, who was gradually sidelined and ultimately laid off in favor of ChatGPT at the tech start-up where she worked.
As articles circulated within the company on how to integrate ChatGPT into various job functions, Lipkin observed her assignments dwindling, and her anxiety grew as managers began referring to her as "Olivia/ChatGPT" on internal Slack groups. The confirmation of her fears came when she discovered managers discussing the cost-effectiveness of using ChatGPT over paying a human writer. In April, she was abruptly let go without explanation, solidifying the notion that AI had indeed displaced her.

The rapid advancements in AI technology have resulted in chatbots capable of engaging in natural conversations, generating written content, composing music, and even producing computer code. In the race to mainstream these products, Silicon Valley companies are offering AI-driven tools to millions of users, often at no cost. Economists predict that this technology has the potential to automate a significant number of jobs, leading to a monumental workforce restructuring akin to the industrial revolution. However, skeptics argue that AI chatbots will serve as aids, allowing humans to work more efficiently.

While some view the impact of AI as exaggerated, the repercussions are tangible for certain workers. Professionals involved in marketing and social media content creation are at the forefront of the first wave of individuals being replaced by chatbots, which are increasingly capable of producing plausible alternatives to their work.

Experts emphasize that even the most advanced AI still falls short of human writing skills. AI lacks a personal voice, style, and often produces incorrect, nonsensical, or biased responses. However, for many companies, the cost-cutting benefits outweigh any potential decline in quality.

Sarah T. Roberts, an associate professor specializing in digital labor at the University of California, Los Angeles, warns that a crisis point has been reached, noting that AI is now encroaching on jobs that were once thought to be immune to automation.

Generative AI, utilizing complex algorithms trained on vast amounts of data from the internet, poses a new level of disruption. Its ability to generate human-like prose places highly paid knowledge workers at risk of replacement. Ethan Mollick, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, emphasizes that this time the threat of automation targets the highest-earning, most creative jobs that require substantial educational backgrounds.

Goldman Sachs predicted that AI could automate 18 percent of work worldwide, with white-collar workers such as lawyers facing higher risks compared to those in physical labor-intensive trades. The White House has also recognized the potential disruption, acknowledging that AI has the capacity to automate "nonroutine" tasks.

Yet, Mollick cautions that it is premature to gauge the full impact of AI on the workforce. Jobs like copywriting, document translation, transcription, and paralegal work are particularly susceptible to automation, as chatbots excel in these areas. Conversely, high-level legal analysis, creative writing, and artistic endeavors remain difficult to replicate, as humans still outperform AI in these realms.

Eric Fein, a content writer running his own business, recently experienced the devastating consequences of chatbot adoption. After a decade of successful operations, his largest client informed him that they would be transitioning to ChatGPT, causing all his contracts to be canceled one by one. Although Fein's clients understood the limitations of ChatGPT's creativity, technical precision, and originality, they favored the cost savings associated with the chatbot.

Companies that have rushed to incorporate chatbots have encountered notable setbacks. Instances of articles containing errors, fictitious legal cases in briefs, and chatbots providing insensitive and harmful advice have highlighted the potential pitfalls of relying solely on AI.

Roberts points out that chatbots can produce costly errors, cautioning against hasty adoption without fully assessing the consequences. By design, chatbots generate average content by predicting the statistically most likely word in a sentence. This presents a dilemma for companies: quality versus cost.

The story of Olivia Lipkin serves as a cautionary tale for copywriters and content creators facing uncertain futures. Lipkin, disillusioned by her experience in content marketing, which left her burnt out and unable to pursue her own creative writing, has chosen to take a break from the office world and become a dog walker.

The push for the cheapest solution, which often involves replacing human workers with robots, underscores the pressing need to reconsider the balance between quality and cost. As industries grapple with the disruption caused by AI, individuals like Lipkin are seeking alternative career paths that leverage skills and expertise that AI cannot replicate.

The future of work in the age of AI remains uncertain. The impact will vary across sectors, and the extent of disruption will largely depend on the complexity of tasks involved. As the conversation surrounding AI and automation continues, the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead will shape the workforce of tomorrow.
Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×