I totally disagree. More new jobs will be created in AI-related software development than lost in other types of development. People have been predicting the downfall of software jobs for decades, yet the number of jobs has only increased.
Yes, new jobs will be created in AI-related fields. However, those new jobs are going to require skills that many of the current programmers and graduates may not have. BTW, I don’t think any of the advances in computing we’ve experienced in the last few decades is anywhere comparable to the impact AI is going to have. Quantum computing (and the combination of AI and quantum computing) is another potential unprecedented disruption on the horizon.
I agree. I see increase in demand for AI/ML development skills and lower demand for skills in areas like web, UI, and some DB. As AI/ML applications improve it will consume more CS skills from the bottom up. I do think that other engineering domains will see increase in demand. ME for instance with more robotics possibilities.
Our S has always received several recruiter contacts a month from his LinkedIn account. That number has increased dramatically in last few months. His words: “My LinkedIn account is on fire”.
Programmers and recent graduates have always had to learn new skills in order to remain employed.
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Very true. The technology landscape continually and rapidly changes.
Most of the technologies used today did not exist when my peers and I graduated 25+ years ago. Many not even 5 years ago. Yet here we are, using them in creative new ways. Software engineering requires continuous learning and adaptation. It’s the norm, not the exception.
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The use of AI to replace background actors is one of the issues in the current actors strike.
“They proposed that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get paid for one day’s pay, and their company should own that scan, their image, their likeness, and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity in any project they want, with no consent and no compensation,”
Background actors don’t need to be scanned at all. AI can generate unique background actors as needed.
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Not in the industry, and don’t understand any of this, but to avoid taking sides, at least be fair and post management’s response:
“Its proposal “only permits a company to use the digital replica of a background actor in the motion picture for which the background actor is employed. Any other use requires the background actor’s consent and bargaining for the use, subject to a minimum payment,” an AMPTP spokesperson told NBC News.”
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I’ve seen some examples of AI-created actors used for videos, and if you look closely, you can tell they’re not real. The heights, builds and clothing may be different for each actor, but the expression on everyone’s face is the same. Kinda creepy.
Perfect for a remake of the Pod People. 
That’s what it looked like.
Like Tarkin and Leia in Rogue One?
I think we’re a few years away from putting any actors out of work, but it will happen.
I’m a lawyer. I would say legal research could be done easily by AI, but law is about nuance and grey areas. It may help with research and writing, but I suspect lawyers will be around fro a long time to come. I suspect the VC commentator is not a lawyer.
Obviously, no one can predict the future with any degree of certainty. But overconfidence in the endurance of one’s own profession has been common throughout history. With something as profound, as disruptive, and as revolutionary as AI on the horizon, I’m not sure that confidence is well founded.
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The goal of AI researchers and developers is for AI to attain levels of expertise and nuance as to be indistinguishable from humans. The debate is now about how long that will take. It’s now a matter of “when” not “if”.
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