The recent rise of AI has forced many people to reconsider their career paths. From marketing to health care, AI has caused hundreds of layoffs as it starts making some occupations obsolete.
However, if you’ve ever worked with AI or attempted to implement AI, then you’ll know the technology is largely assistive rather than a replacement for the hard work of real humans. Moreover, there are plenty of jobs that AI simply cannot take over.
Human Resources
While AI has transformed many industries, it cannot entirely replace HR careers. Human Resources is fundamentally about managing people, their emotions, and their personal needs, which requires a level of empathy, understanding, and emotional intelligence that AI has yet to master. That said, implementing AI in HR can provide many benefits. It excels in handling repetitive tasks such as screening resumes, scheduling interviews, and automating administrative processes, but these are only a portion of HR's role.
HR professionals provide critical support in conflict resolution, employee engagement, and building a positive workplace culture. These require nuanced human judgment and an ability to read between the lines of what employees say. Emotional and psychological complexities involve dynamic, interpersonal communication that AI tools are ill-equipped to handle.
Additionally, HR plays a crucial role in strategic decision-making by understanding the workforce and aligning talent management with business goals. AI can provide data-driven insights, but humans are needed to interpret this data in context, considering both the human and organizational impact. While AI can augment HR processes, it cannot fully replace the critical human elements at the core of HR careers.
Teaching
In 2022, the National Center for Education Statistics reported a total of 3.2 million full-time teachers in the US. That represents around 2.7% of the total labor force in the nation today. While some predict that AI will replace many full-time teachers, it’s unlikely that automation and robots can ever educate the populace as effectively as teachers who see their careers as a vocation.
While AI cannot replace the 3.2 million teachers in the US today, it can close the education gap and ensure that everyone receives high-quality tuition. Today, educators are leaning on AI-driven ed-tech to ensure that all learners can access adaptive, accessible teaching materials tailored to their needs. Examples of AI-assisted ed-tech include:
These apps are designed to improve student’s learning experience while empowering teachers with assistive tech. Apps like Atama+ and Brisk are specifically designed to help teachers provide better feedback and should reduce their workload when grading and giving feedback.
It’s impossible to predict how, exactly, AI will impact teaching. However, more professionals are being hired and trained to use AI in the workplace today than ever before. This could be good news for educators, who can spend more time sharing their passion for their subject with students and less time grading papers and giving rote feedback.
Writing
We’ve written down our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs for thousands of years. In that time, the art of writing has been refined and revised to become a highly efficient system that encourages creativity. However, in recent years, much speculation has been made about the power of AI and its ability to replace writers.
While programs like ChatGPT and Gemini do have the power to answer complex questions and churn out masses of articles for SEO and content creation, real writers are still essential. Unlike AI writing tools, real writers can connect thoughts and present unique ideas in ways that automated programs cannot. Similarly, real writers are more effective collaborators and are able to take on feedback while sticking to the prompt they’re given.
However, that doesn’t mean that writers should turn their back on AI altogether. Instead, marketing agencies that employ writers can see AI as an assistive tool that improves the quality of their written content. When leveraged correctly, AI can help real writers:
These aids can speed up the writing process and minimize the risk of human error. They can also be empowering and will help writers think of new ideas for the respective brand, business, or blog. That said, writers still need to lean on their education and creative skills to produce content that engages readers.
Health Care
The healthcare industry is undergoing a transformation. There is a huge shortage of nurses nationwide, as many institutions struggle to bounce back from the pandemic. At the same time, there has been an influx of AI-driven health tech designed to help doctors, nurses, and medical providers better serve patients.
While some apps and AI-driven tools may reduce the workforce, the healthcare industry is expected to show resilience against the trend towards greater automation. This is because healthcare work requires adaptability from folks like surgeons, therapists, and general practitioners. Healthcare professionals do this by drawing from a wealth of experience to gather subtle insights that even the most powerful AI may still miss.
Healthcare requires a human touch, too. Research published in the Primary Care Companion shows that patients recover more effectively when they trust, respect, and are loyal to their doctors. Developing this kind of relationship with a robot is impossible, and forcing patients to interact with faceless AI may undermine their wider treatment plan. Instead, AI should be used as an assistive tool to track trends, spot healthcare issues in the community, and minimize the risk of human error in healthcare.
Conclusion
As this technology introduces itself to society, AI replacing humans has unfortunately become commonplace. However, most people who use AI in their day-to-day work know that it is best utilized as an assistive tool rather than a replacement for real employees. This is good news for folks who work in marketing, education, or healthcare. When leveraged effectively, AI will minimize human error, complete mundane tasks, and help folks focus on the responsibilities that add the most value to their organization.
