Retail workers and people employed in the food service industry will be replaced by AI as its absorption into the workforce increases, an expert has revealed.
The dire warning comes amid fears that technology known as generative AI could be rolled out across Australia later this year, leaving thousands of workers displaced.
Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence technology that is trained to perform tasks that a human can, such as speaking and writing in a given language.
The technology is already being widely used around the world in various industries and is designed to replace workers employed to perform mundane and repetitive jobs, such as administrative work and banking services.
Niusha Shafiabady, an associate professor at Charles Darwin University’s School of Science and Technology and an expert in machine learning, said these jobs would be the first to go.
Workers employed in retail industries (pictured) will be among the first to lose their jobs as artificial intelligence technologies take over the workforce.
Workplace technology company Service Now has found that 1.3 million jobs (pictured) will be automated in Australia over the next four years.
“Jobs that rely on humans following pre-existing instructions and that do not require many or any analytical thinking skills will be affected relatively quickly,” Professor Shafiabady said. news.com
Research by workplace technology company Service Now found 1.3 million jobs will be automated in Australia over the next four years, in a major shake-up of the workforce.
These are the top three jobs that will likely be replaced by AI and the jobs that will likely be safe from the technology.
Administrative support
Administrative jobs will be very easily replaced by AI and workers such as secretaries and those who perform administrative tasks will be affected by the technology.
Other functions that will be affected by these machine learning tools also include accounting, payroll, and data entry.
Professor Shafiabady, who has researched industries that are susceptible to massive disruptions caused by AI, said call center workers will almost certainly be laid off.
“The tasks of this type of work can be replicated using an artificial intelligence computer system, so they will be displaced,” he said.
GP clinic receptionists are also among the office support roles that will be taken over by advanced IT systems, and the number of available jobs is likely to decline in the coming years.
The World Economic Forum predicted in a report last year that there will be 26 million fewer white-collar jobs worldwide by 2027.
Professor Niusha Shafiabady (pictured) said white-collar jobs would be easily replaced by AI technologies.
Retail services (pictured) will be heavily affected by AI and a quarter of all retail jobs will be eliminated by 2027.
Customer service and sales
The retail and sales sector will also be greatly affected by AI.
Service Now and workplace technology expert Pearson found that almost a quarter of retail jobs in Australia will be eliminated due to this technology by 2027.
This equates to 323,000 full-time workers who will be put out of work as companies transition to cheaper alternatives.
AI technologies are cheap and can be easily integrated into the workforce, making the systems a viable option for businesses.
Food services
Restaurants and fast food chains already use artificial intelligence technology to receive customer orders and recommend menu items.
The industry has also been dominated by food delivery apps and platforms such as UberEats and Deliveroo.
These platforms have outsourced several jobs in the food service sector, and the technologies have helped the food industry generate more than $44 billion in revenue in 2021.
McKinsey figures found that 13 percent of workers employed in the food service industry in 2022 were forced to look for a new job due to automation.
Workers employed by restaurants and fast food chains (pictured) have already been affected by artificial intelligence technologies as the food service sector prepares for more changes.
Jobs that are safe
Jobs that involve manual labor, such as mining, are more likely to defend themselves from the threat of AI.
Bricklayers, painters and supervisors primarily employed in the construction sector to perform labor-intensive work are unlikely to be replaced by machine learning technologies.
Professor Shafiabady said it will be difficult to design and then integrate artificial intelligence technologies to replace workers employed in these industries.
“The fact is that the cost of recruiting for a position like a global construction worker, compared to manufacturing and maintaining a robot to do the same thing, means that this type of role is unlikely to be be displaced soon,” he said.
The Future of Jobs Survey conducted by the World Economic Forum in 2023 confirmed these findings.
Tradespeople (pictured) and workers employed in the construction sector are unlikely to have their jobs affected by AI.
The survey results indicated that tradesmen, mechanics and those who operate heavy machinery are at low risk of being replaced by AI.
As companies dive deep into the world of AI, many jobs companies advertise on platforms like the networking site LinkedIn seek workers trained in AI applications.
There is strong demand for people with technical qualifications to work as data scientists or software engineers.
Professor Shafiabady urged parents of young children and those trying to make their way into the workforce to evaluate their career options, as many jobs that will be replaced by AI may not exist for long.
