IBM CEO warns: AI will affect white-collar jobs first

🗞️ The Tech Issue | August 23, 2023

Author

Qamar Zia
August 23, 2023

☕️ Greetings. It's Wednesday, August 23, I'm excited to share some amazing AI news and updates with you today. Let’s dive in.

🗞️ Today’s Highlights:

  • LATEST NEWS & TRENDS — Google is developing Gemini AI, a system aiming to outperform products like GPT-4

  • INDUSTRY | FUNCTION — Generative AI for training: the future is here for manufacturers

  • RESOURCES — Best Free AI Training Courses for 2023

  • WORK — Which generation of workers is likely to use generative AI at work?

  • AI TOOLS — AI-Powered Career Services. Designed for modern professionals, optimized for all careers.

  • CHARTS — How Generative AI Will Supercharge Productivity in industries and functions

🤖 IBM's CEO, Arvind Krishna, stated in a CNBC interview that white-collar jobs would be among the first impacted by AI. Krishna emphasized that AI could make enterprise processes more efficient, allowing the same work with fewer employees. He highlighted the growing demand for AI chatbots and IBM's history in AI, referencing Watson. IBM's recent AI tool, WatsonX, facilitates machine learning. Despite potential AI job replacements, Krishna believes AI will enhance rather than replace human labor, potentially creating more jobs and boosting GDP.

🤖 Large language models (LLMs) could gain "vision," understanding images' meaning, impacting businesses by organizing millions of images in IT systems. A large vision language model (VLM) such as Google's Vertex AI Multimodal Embeddings augments images and text intelligence. VLMs create shared embedding spaces for images and texts, enabling searches across both modalities, transforming e-commerce, security monitoring, and more. Google Cloud offers options like Enterprise Search, Vertex AI Vision Warehouse, and Multimodal Embeddings for businesses to harness the power of LLMs with vision. Read the Google article here: What is Multimodal Search: "LLMs with vision" change businesses

What is a Vision Language Model (VLM)? Read this Hugging Face blog post here: A Dive into Vision-Language Models.

🗞️ LATEST NEWS & TRENDS

1️⃣ Google is developing Gemini AI, a system aiming to outperform products like GPT-4. Merging AlphaGo's technology with advanced language models, Gemini boasts superior problem-solving features. Slated for diverse applications, from chatbots to enterprise solutions, it's a product of Google DeepMind. With the potential to generate images from text and handle software through natural language, Gemini is poised to be a strong contender in the AI market. Google DeepMind's CEO, Hassabis, underscores the need for cautious and responsible AI development.

Video source/credit: AI Revolution

2️⃣ Generative AI holds immense potential to reshape enterprises' operations and innovation. Despite this, many business leaders are still grasping its benefits and challenges. Generative AI aids in problem-solving, creativity, and efficiency. McKinsey reports showing its increasing integration, with 40% of businesses expanding AI investments. However, adoption brings challenges—data privacy, context limitations, output quality, biases, scalability, and integration. Navigating these demands strategic planning, addressing concerns, and aligning with business goals. Generative AI is a transformative force that requires careful consideration but promises remarkable business growth.

3️⃣ The accuracy of generative models can be compromised due to limited training data, leading to incorrect or misleading outputs. Bias is another concern, with models inheriting and amplifying biases from training data. Data privacy risks emerge from the potential exposure of sensitive information. Intellectual property challenges arise as AI-generated content blurs lines of ownership and originality. Ethical concerns include deepfakes that spread misinformation, eroding human creativity, causing job displacement, and raising environmental issues. Mitigation involves diverse training data, constant monitoring, ethical guidelines, and stakeholder involvement.

4️⃣ AI is increasingly integrating into our daily lives through smartphones, enhancing user experience from graphics to automatic subtitles. Kwon Oh-hyung from Qualcomm highlights generative AI's potential as a digital assistant and its shift from cloud to on-device processing. On-device AI offers benefits in cost, energy, performance, privacy, and security. Demonstrations, like Stable Diffusion, showcase on-device AI's capability in generating images from text, underscoring the significance of on-device intelligence for broader application and user privacy.

5️⃣ AI offers transformative potential in education, benefiting both lecturers and students. For lecturers, AI enhances lesson tailoring, grading, and research support. Students gain from personalized learning, clarification tools, and support in complex subjects. However, while AI streamlines educational processes, human oversight is crucial for accuracy and ethical considerations. Responsible AI use is paramount to ensure fairness and uphold the integrity of education.

🗞️ INDUSTRY | FUNCTION

Generative AI aids manufacturers in tackling operational challenges by enhancing planning, maintenance, and quality control. It also addresses the urgent talent shortage issue projected to result in 2.1 million unfilled jobs and $1 trillion in costs by 2030. Generative AI, exemplified by DeepHow, automates the creation of training materials and standard operating procedures, reducing resource expenditure and time. It utilizes AI engines like "Stephanie" for capturing expertise in how-to videos and "Maven" for generating video guides from SOPs, fostering a more skilled and productive workforce.

🗞️ RESOURCES

Tech.co has curated a selection of top-notch free AI courses that emphasize generative AI and its applications, along with core principles of artificial intelligence. Many of these courses are tailored as introductory lessons suitable for beginners. The titles are as follows:

  1. Google’s Generative AI Learning Path (10 Courses)

  2. Microsoft's “Transform Your Business With AI” Course

  3. LinkedIn’s “Career Essentials In Generative AI” Training Course

  4. “IBM: AI Foundations for Everyone” Training Course

  5. Digital Partner’s “Fundamentals of ChatGPT” Training Course

  6. Phil Ebner’s AI Crash Course (Udemy)

🗞️ WORK

Younger workers are more accepting of generative AI at work than older counterparts, with 46% of Gen Z and 36% of millennials optimistic, while only 20% of Gen X and 16% of Baby boomers are positive, per a Robert Half report. Overall, 27% expect a positive career impact, 17% fear skill obsolescence, and 32% foresee no impact. Top uses include task automation (36%) and efficiency (24%). Technology and marketing professionals believe AI will boost demand for their skills. Responsible implementation requires clear guidelines and impact assessments covering areas like oversight, privacy, and social benefits. Business leaders lag in deploying generative AI strategies.

🗞️ AI TOOLS

🔧 Job Hunt Mode: AI-Powered Career Services. Designed for modern professionals, optimized for all careers.

🔧 Learning Studio AI: Introducing LearningStudioAI, the next-gen online course creation tool

🔧 MirrorThink: Enhance your scientific research in minutes. Unleash the power of AI for science and find answers to all your burning questions about scientific methods, research, papers, and more!

🔧 Architect GPT: Design your dream living space with your own personal AI-powered architect & interior designer. Create world-class designs and sketches using ArchitectGPT.

🔧 Godmode: Godmode is a web platform to access the automation powers of autoGPT and babyAGI. AI agents are still in their infancy, but they are quickly growing in capabilities, and Godmode hopes that Godmode will enable more people to tap into autonomous AI agents even in this early stage. See the video below by App Of The Day.

Disclaimer: 1) The tool descriptions are from the company behind each tool/app. 2) Please read the site details thoroughly before using and/or acquiring any of the tools listed above. We have not tested these tools and we will not be liable for issues resulting from using these tools.

🗞️ CHARTS

Amid the pandemic, the U.S. experienced a unique jobs crisis in 2021 followed by the 'Great Resignation' trend in 2022, with over 50 million Americans quitting for better opportunities. This movement peaked in 2022 and has gradually decreased in 2023, with June recording 3.77 million quits. The labor market, once resilient, is now cooling down, with recession fears and economic conditions influencing this trend.

Source: Statista

According to Bain & Company, Generative AI has the potential to significantly enhance worker efficiency, though its impact will vary depending on the specific roles and sectors it's applied.

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I'm not a newsletter expert so you might find my approach a tad different. In my daily dives into the world of AI, I handpick the latest gems, initially to support the AI projects that I’m working on. Realizing that these snippets might resonate with others, I thought, "Why not share this with my community and fellow AI enthusiasts?" I truly want this newsletter to be valuable to you so if there's anything on your mind—praises, critiques, or just a hello—please drop me a note. You can hit reply or shoot me a message directly at my email address: [email protected].

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