Is artificial intelligence coming for your job?
No, but there’s a catch, a technology panel in Downtown Raleigh told a crowd Thursday at an event held in celebration of North Carolina’s 2024 Technology Day.
Igor Jablokov, CEO and founder of AI-focused firm Pryon, pointed to the current market, some of the lowest unemployment rates being reported at a time when “we supposedly have the most advanced technology that we’ve ever had.”
“Now, will certain jobs dead-end, and people need to be re-skilled and re-trained?” he said. “Of course. That’s why you need to be constantly caring and feeding all of your educational institutions.”
Shinica Thomas, chair of the Wake County Commission, sees AI as a “force multiplier,” not a pink slip machine.
“It’s just changing the way that we work, not necessarily the jobs are going to be eliminated, they are going to be changed," she said. "I think it’s going to help with production and the scope of people’s work is going to change.”
Siobhan Day Grady, director of the Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence and Equity Research at N.C. Central University, said AI will “force people to adopt.”
“If they’re not going to adopt right now, they at least need to know about it,” she said, reminding the crowd that, through it all, AI is still learning. “There will be new jobs and opportunities. I see this as a way for us as a society to grow and hopefully become better and more efficient.”
Robert Daigle, director of global artificial intelligence business and Lenovo, suspects AI will be blamed, however, calling AI the “great scapegoat.”
“There were companies that came out last year that said, you know, we’re going to displace 10,000 jobs across our organization by using AI,” he said. “I speculate much of that was they were going to displace those jobs anyway.”
Daigle didn't name names at the panel, but last year Arvind Krishna, CEO of another IBM, said over the next five years, about 30 percent of his firm's positions — or about 7,800 workers — may be replaced by AI and automation.
Thursday’s event was a partnership of Lenovo and the North Carolina Technology Association.