Stemming the AI takeover

ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) should adapt to humans, and humans should not have have to adapt to technology, a panelist at a technology forum says.

That, he says, includes how technology should adapt to nuances from a particular region or culture, as many AI tools are trained and deployed in a largely US context.

They may not be relevant when employed by non-US users.

Adaptability is also relevant in the context of job security.

The speed in which AI is deployed in every aspect of human activity is making it harder for people to catch up, much less adapt to the technology.

Still, businesses that are quick to grasp how AI can make them more efficient and productive have been at the forefront of shedding jobs involved in repetitive tasks that AI can do better or quicker.

Even highly skilled jobs are not immune from these cuts. With fewer repetitive tasks, there is less need for a big headcount especially at junior levels.

Besides adaptability, the discussion among panelists ran back and forth over AI adoption, and over trust and security issues.

The point is, whether people actively adopt it or not, technology is embedded in almost anything, at home and in the office, transportation nodes, healthcare, defence and security, just to name a few.

Going back to job security, the prevalent argument is that low-value jobs lost through technology will be replaced by the higher-skills jobs created as the momentum picks up from a transformation of the economy.

The worry is how adaptable the current workforce is to the changes and whether new entrants into the workforce have the skills or flexibility to adapt to the changes.

At this point, this gap is not being addressed effectively, hence the retrenchments.

Here is where we find a ­mismatch between the bright future described by technology experts and the reality of job insecurity.

There are no published figures on how many jobs have been lost to AI adoption in 2025, but the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report in January paints a picture that is on balance and still positive.

However, it asks a few pertinent questions that still resonates.

According to the report, out of nine technologies in a survey, AI and information processing technologies stood out as having the biggest impact, with 86% of respondents expecting these technologies to transform their business by 2030.

Generative AI stood out in the report as a technology that can not only empower less specialised employees to expand their functions, but also higher skilled employees such as engineers or doctors.

The report said that proper government regulations, economic incentives or decision-making were needed to make technology a tool to enhance human capabilities rather than substituting for them.

Otherwise, AI deployment will lead to people being replaced.

AI-powered robots and autonomous systems are also steadily growing and are now second on the list of the nine technologies, with highly industrialised countries more affected.

While employers are pushing to upskill or reskill workers, there will still be some wrenching change in the job market, even for highly skilled workers like software developers, as AI replaces the “grunt work” or repetitive tasks.

This means far fewer entry-level jobs will be available in jobs.

This brings us to the question of how new entrants into the job market can build up a resume that also allows them learning opportunities.

As job roles change or get redefined by AI and automation, the amount of work attributable to humans will decline.

At this point, it is still arguable whether the value of the work attributable to humans will also decline.

The prevalent narrative is that AI and AI-powered robotics as well as automation will enable humans to be more productive and efficient, when these technologies are used as tools.

The Future of Jobs report highlights that human-machine collaboration should be the path forward, advocating for technology to be designed and developed in a way that complements and enhances, rather than displaces, human work.

This will also shape talent development, reskilling and upskilling strategies in the years to come.

It is to be hoped that the big technology companies pouring increasing amounts of funding into AI, and related infrastructure and technologies will take heed.

Today, the jobs lost are the repetitive ones, but AI is encroaching on areas deemed to be in the realm of human endeavour, like the arts, ­creativity and imagination.

For example, the Hollywood strikes of 2023 revolved around how AI could affect livelihoods over fears of copyright through use of images and voices without proper compensation as well as regulation.

Perhaps the science fiction writer Frank Herbert sums it best: “Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind.”