The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has been one of the most transformative shifts in recent history, sparking debate, excitement, and concern across industries and society. As we navigate this rapidly changing landscape, it’s impossible not to draw parallels to another pivotal moment in human history: the Industrial Revolution. Both eras marked a dramatic shift in the workforce, bringing technological advancements that altered the way we live, work, and create. However, unlike the machines of the past that required human operators, AI is a technology capable of independent decision-making, automation, and, in some cases, replacing the very jobs that humans have relied on for centuries. This article explores how AI compares to the Industrial Revolution, the jobs it threatens to replace, and the opportunities it might create in its wake.
Rise of AI vs. The Industrial Revolution
The industrial revolution is an adequate comparison for the Rise of AI because they both have had dramatic effects on the workforce. It was a period of time when many traditional jobs were replaced or greatly altered by new machinery and industrial processes. Jobs such as blacksmiths, tailors, agricultural workers were all replaced with new machines and factories, increasing productivity and manufacturing speed all while requiring a smaller workforce.
In contrast to physical machines, the AI revolution is replacing humans with software. The first big release that grabbed the world’s attention was DALL-E alongside ChatGPT 3. These pieces of software blew the minds of every user, people generated image after image with DALL-E, and had ChatGPT instantly craft perfect emails or write school essays. Since those early days, we have seen rapid advancement in the field, now we’re beginning to see AI replace jobs previously held by people. One of the first jobs to go were fast food workers, many establishments now have AI interact with customers, taking orders.
Jobs were not replaced overnight, but gradually as new technology was adopted. The industrial revolution took place slowly over decades. This is consistent with the AI revolution, gradually more jobs are being replaced, and over the next decade or so, we will see which jobs are safe, and which are doomed.
Entrepreneur and Shark Tank host Mark Cuban’s take on AI is profound. In Mark’s interview with Bloomberg, he describes AI as “the automation of automation.” Jobs during the Industrial Revolution were only tied to the manufacturing industry, The AI revolution will affect multiple industries. The single creation of AI will automate many industries.
As AI gets better, at some point we will tell it to generate entire computer programs, or have it create blueprints for bridges, or complete taxes or audit a company, all without any human intervention. With the rise of automation during the industrial revolution, the next big leap is the automation of automation.
Towards the end of the video Cuban states “In 10 years there will be more of a demand for liberal arts majors, than for programming majors and engineers.” this sentiment is becoming more true as time progresses. Recent high school graduates are hesitant to attend college and commit their life to a profession that might end up being taken over by AI, it is daunting. Someone who has always wanted to be a programmer will now have second thoughts about learning to program.
What Jobs will be taken over by AI?
The industrial revolution displaced many workers, but with it came a wave of new jobs. Many previously displaced blacksmiths or tailors could now work in a factory or as engineers. The AI revolution did not have this effect, many of those who had their job replaced by AI are left without many options in the current job market.
Open AI, the company behind ChatGPT, set a goal to release the next evolution of AI they call “Super Intelligence” and “Super Alignment” which will allow AI to make its own decisions in the interest of humans. This is a huge leap for artificial intelligence, something straight out of a sci-fi movie, and it means things are definitely not slowing down anytime soon for AI, there is much more exploring to do.
As things begin ramping up for AI, understanding what jobs are safe and which are likely to be replaced by is important. Placing jobs into four categories can help determine if you are safe or not. Those categories are: Highly automatable jobs, Partially automatable jobs, Minimally automatable jobs, and Human Centered jobs.
Highly Automatable Jobs
Highly automatable jobs are repetitive, rule based, and require little to no creativity. This would be something like data entry, Some duties such as maintaining records, transferring data, verifying information, and organizing data are all responsibilities of a data entry position, these types of tasks are now done extremely efficiently with AI.
Customer service is another job that is being replaced by AI. The earlier example of fast food would apply here. AI is able to accurately and consistently take people’s order, why would any company hire someone for 15-20$ an hour when they could license software for a few hundred bucks a year and see negligibly little change in their quality of service. Other positions that fit this category consist of simple administrative tasks, like receptionists or assistants. Chatbots can easily schedule clients and set meetings.
Despite this, there are some highly automatable jobs that will be safe from this AI revolution. Government positions will be safe. Many factors such as our government’s extremely slow bureaucratic process, its slowness to adopted new technologies, unions, security concerns, and regulatory and ethical constraints mean that these government jobs will be safe from AI takeover.
Partially Automatable Jobs
Partially automatable jobs require some level of cognitive ability and expertise, but are still structured and follow clear rules and procedures. Lawyers fit this to a tee, many tasks like analyzing contracts or filing documents are perfect for AI, other duties like presenting a case, client advocacy, creative legal strategy can only be done by humans. These jobs are not likely to be replaced, but will be met with reform that changes how partially automatable jobs operate. A lawyer will not need to do as much grunt work, no long hours reading and analyzing documents, allowing them to focus more on the creative legal work, like strategy and networking.
Another job that will be partially automated are programmers. Jobs in app development, cybersecurity, game design, etc… anything that involves coding or programming would fit under partially automatable jobs. There has been a lot of speculation and controversy surrounding the future of programming, since it was previously a very safe career path. Headlines now state that programmers will be a thing of the past because AI can easily and quickly write code, but this is not the entire truth. Just like AI generated Art, there is a ceiling that will be hit in terms of what AI can accomplish with it’s generated code. While it is able to generate functional code, it is not very intuitive. For instance in an article by Ian Cackett writing for Medium, he describes how software engineers tried using AI to build an update for an app, the code it generated would have done the job, but it did not integrate well into their already existing code and caused many glitches and would sometimes break the app. Some say that once AI gets better at coding, which it inevitably will, then programming will be replaced. But that Ceiling will always be there to stop it.
Coding is only part of the job, the other part involves creativity bing able to solve complex problems, designing systems themselves and for their deep understanding of users needs. While some might argue that AI Super-intelligence and Super-alignment would be able to understand human needs and design systems themselves, the evolving nature of human needs would make AI suboptimal for these tasks, our needs evolve very fast so staying on top of it is something AI will never be able to do. On the bright side, writing the code as well as much of the grunt work will be perfect for AI, but other aspects such as finding problems, vulnerabilities, designing systems for humans, and crafting solutions are all skills that AI will never be able to do.
Minimally Automatable Jobs
Minimally Automatable Jobs require high levels of creativity, emotional intelligence, or complex problem-solving. Categories for these jobs include Art, science/research, and business. AI is great at generating art in many different forms, such as pictures. Videos, even producing music. Unfortunately, there is a ceiling that AI has begun to hit. AI needs human art to reference. According to Open AI, training data (original art) created by humans is running thin, while there are other avenues for training AI such as abstract works, or pieces made by AI itself, the art created by humans is gold. Running out of human art would be like running out of gold to mine and resorting to salvaging copper from old wires at the junkyard.
As the Artificial intelligence industry grows, so will the need for human generated art to train it. While the generated art, or videos might seem daunting for someone choosing a career in that field, it will likely create a boom for the art industry, allowing artists to quickly and easily license their work to AI developers. Allowing artists to make more money and bolstering AI data training in the process.
The second category, science and research, is considered a minimally automatable job because while AI can assist in research, it cannot generate new theories, hypothesis’ and cannot comprehend new discoveries or findings. Unlike the previous category, applications for AI in this field are slim. They are mostly limited to data entry, summary, and analysis of information. Use of AI might also be considered a red flag by fellow researchers.
There have been many instances of fake research papers being published in credible journals. It is important to realize that Peer reviews and secondary opinions are the backbone of the research community, so fake research papers will mislead other researchers’ in their own experiments, hindering progress. While the use of AI is not by itself bad, with it’s limited application in this field, it could be an indicator of fake work, thus considered a red flag by peers. Even if it is used honestly, it would delegitimize the work. While it can be used in research and science, it is unlikely that AI will take any science and research jobs ever.
The last category, business, is unique because it is voluntary. Business owners are not at the mercy of an employer for job security. While simple administrative tasks can be done by AI, the main duties of a business owner cannot be replaced. These are things like creating new business models, taking risks, innovation, and market analysis can only be done by humans.
Human-Centered Jobs
Human-Centered Jobs require empathy, high interpersonal skills, ability to navigate complex social situations. Jobs that require manual labor are also not able to be done by AI, so think handymen, plumbers, truckers, stuff that requires a human to be physically present. Some jobs would have major ethical concerns if AI began taking them over. Therapists and psychologists are at the top of this list, while there are some therapy chatbots that can be a helpful outlet, they are in no way a replacement for the real thing.
Therapists and psychologist have a level of depth, emotional connection, and understanding of people’s needs that cannot be achieved by AI. Emotions and feelings are uniquely human, the long-standing sci-fi trope about robots never being able to feel emotions is true in this case. It would be difficult for anyone to trust that an AI could every accurately diagnose someone with a mental disorder and prescribe them the correct medicine. Another job in this field would be nurses/caregivers. Besides routine tasks, these roles involve caring for patients, understanding their needs, and providing comfort, all areas where a human touch is needed.
Lastly, Roles that require leadership and management, these roles involve being able to motivate employee’s, navigating interpersonal dynamics, conflict resolution, ethical decision-making, Long term planning, and more. These qualities needed in a leadership role cannot be done by AI. even if AI could handle the decision-making side of leadership, it lacks authority and would not be taken seriously.
What Jobs will AI Create (if any)?
In contrast to the industrial revolution, the jobs created by AI will be far fewer than the ones that are lost, and transitioning into these new positions will not be easy. During the industrial revolution, someone who lost their job as a blacksmith or tailor could quickly be retrained to operate machines in a factory within a matter of days. AI jobs, however, have a much higher barrier to entry and require significantly more time and education to prepare for. With AI automating so many industries at once, the few jobs it creates will demand specialized skills.
Programming is one of the most obvious fields where AI will create jobs. While AI itself can write code, the process of designing and maintaining AI systems still relies heavily on human programmers. Jobs like app development, cybersecurity, and game design will continue to grow, but with a stronger focus on AI integration. Beyond that, there will be a demand for AI-specific roles such as machine learning engineers, data scientists, and natural language processing experts, positions that require advanced technical knowledge.
Another area where AI will create jobs is in business. Entrepreneurs have an opportunity to form businesses that sell custom AI solutions. These solutions could be tailored to specific industries, like healthcare or retail, and don’t always require extensive technical knowledge. Platforms like OpenAI’s APIs make it possible for people with limited programming skills to launch successful businesses. This is one of the more accessible ways AI will create jobs, as it allows people to innovate and adapt AI for unique markets.
AI management will also be a new field. Companies adopting AI systems will need employees to oversee and manage their implementation. These managers won’t necessarily need to know how to code but will need to understand AI well enough to ensure it’s being used ethically and efficiently. Jobs like AI ethicists or compliance officers are likely to emerge as businesses face increasing scrutiny over how they use this technology.
Another area of growth is in data center jobs. AI requires an enormous amount of computational power, meaning more people will be needed to maintain the servers and networks that support it. Jobs in infrastructure, cloud computing, and hardware maintenance will grow alongside the AI revolution.
Lastly, creative fields like Hollywood and media will see new opportunities for people who can use AI to enhance production. Roles in visual effects, editing, and content creation will be supported by AI tools, but these tools still require human oversight and creativity. AI will enhance the creative process, but it won’t replace the artists and creators driving it.
While the list of jobs created by AI is small, the possibilities for entirely new industries to emerge are vast. Transitioning into these roles may be challenging, but those who adapt will have opportunities to thrive in this new era.
Looking ahead
The AI revolution is a double-edged sword, poised to reshape the global workforce in profound ways. While it promises unprecedented efficiency, innovation, and the potential for new industries, it also threatens to displace millions of workers without offering an easy transition into new roles. The comparison to the Industrial Revolution highlights that while technology inevitably creates change, society must decide how to adapt. During the Industrial Revolution, education, regulation, and new industries helped mitigate the impact of job loss; a similar proactive approach will be essential to ensure that the benefits of AI are shared broadly.
Ultimately, AI is not inherently good or bad it is a tool. Its impact will depend on how it is developed, implemented, and governed. By investing in education, fostering innovation, and prioritizing ethics, we can ensure that AI becomes a force for progress rather than division. The future may be uncertain, but with thoughtful action, we can create a world where humans and AI coexist and thrive together, forging a path that benefits both individuals and society as a whole.
