The great AI opportunity: «real» work becomes more valuable again and «bullshit» jobs disappear

When you think of artificial intelligence (AI), you might think of ChatGPT, Google Bard, DALL-E, Midjourney, and other tools. However, AI goes far beyond that – even today. And very few people understand how to use AI in a meaningful way – or are aware of the dangers AI poses. And I’m not talking about Terminator scenarios here.

What work can AI take on?

Repetitive workflows as well as administrative tasks can be replaced by AI. Perhaps we’ll no longer need a person working a counter. Perhaps AI will soon take over parking cars when guests arrive at a luxury hotel. No more need for human valets or driving through narrow parking garages.

AI can also solve entire complex, logical problems and make a big difference to production. Thinking further, AI can support complete processes if properly integrated. Such a system could scan an entire airport and calculate how long it takes you from the time you enter the airport to the time you board the plane. It can guide you on the best route to your destination using your smartphone (or AR glasses). To the gate, the bistro or the restroom.

Also, AI can take care of loading and unloading cargo, so your suitcases won’t get trashed any more. In short, whenever there’s a lot of data involved, AI will help us.

Thanks to AI, «real» work could become more valuable again

If AI takes over, fewer humans would have to slog through many humdrum routines. That, in turn, could mean a rebirth for «real» work. Employees who’ve been on the verge of boreout in the office could find new fulfilment. Perhaps in more traditional roles, as a carpenter or a cook. A nifty shelf under a sloping roof or a tasty menu – AI can’t do that. At least not yet. Artisanship brings concrete benefits for customers. And it’s meaningful to those who do it.

Creating something with your own hands – that will be more fulfilling for most than spending days or even weeks tweaking PowerPoint slides.

How do you use AI and how should you not use it?

Humans are lazy. And anything that makes an activity easier is gladly accepted. This often has drawbacks: active thinking is avoided. Let’s take ChatGPT as an example.

Writing an article? Use ChatGPT. But if no one writes articles any more, we’ll end up with huge problems in human communication. ChatGPT has no return channel. The tool doesn’t know how an article it has written is received, how a person understands and interprets it or whether it’s perceived as useful. Not to mention that ChatGPT only draws on something that has already been created – usually by humans. On the other hand, what ChatGPT already creates is flawed, sometimes even plainly wrong. In research, this phenomenon is called AI hallucination (article in German).

You can use ChatGPT as a sparring partner, as creative inspiration and as a teacher. This way, you can save time and gain momentum. By doing so, you’ll get better and better, gain more knowledge, and use AI to your advantage.

As you can see, like a hammer, it all depends on how you use it. Because a hammer can do many things – good and bad.

What are the risks?

Unfortunately, AI has a significant disadvantage in the area of knowledge. Information is always reprocessed, but not recreated. The result ends up being nothing more than self-referential noise. Just interpolated input, recycled thousands of times, without new insights or added value. I elaborated on the problem in greater detail here:

It’s getting more and more difficult to find relevant information. It all goes under in a sea of irrelevance. This is already the case today. The content creator economy is booming, but many working in the field are just recycling what’s available and popular.

AI will change the world

In summary: through the clever use of AI, some people may lose their current jobs. Exactly what those will be is unclear, although there are forecasts such as this one made by the World Economic Forum from early 2023. One pattern emerges: the more relevant data is to a job, the more likely it is that AI will come into play. This also applies to monotonous, repetitive and administrative tasks.

AI won’t replace humanity, creativity and professions that require hands-on work in the near future. Carpenters, cooks, hairdressers or gardeners – they all have nothing to fear. Nurses for the elderly or caregivers in kindergartens are also still needed. Perhaps AI will finally make these important professions more attractive again, more socially recognised and better paid.

If this happens, AI will actually make the world a better place. And isn’t that all we want?