Tag Archives: technology in counselling

Artificial General Intelligence and its Impact on Jobs

Posted by: Jeff Landine and John Stewart on July 19, 2019 10:57 am

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is typically divided into Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). In our last blog, we dealt with ANI and its implications in the workplace. In this blog we will deal with AGI.

AGI focuses on developing and using deep artificial neural networks (a set of computer algorithms) to process massive amounts of data in a relatively short time. “Deep” refers to the number of layers of computer algorithms, which permit the computer to form connections between these layers. Because of these connections, computers are essentially able to program themselves after multiple trials of processing different sets of similar data. Once the accuracy and efficiency of the model is determined by humans, it becomes available to those who want competent analyses of information pertinent to operating their business and/or performing their occupation.

Predictions are that many new jobs will be created as the field of AGI develops. To illustrate these predictions, presently six different individuals are typically deployed when using deep learning methods to develop new computer models. The decision-maker secures funding and resources to complete the project. The stakeholder quantifies the business value of a proposed solution. The domain expert gets familiar with the work area and problem to be solved. The data scientist translates business problems into computer tasks. The data engineer determines possible databases to use in simulation; and a systems architect designs the infrastructure, such as servers to handle big data. Within a relatively short time, the number of individuals and specializations needed to develop computer models will increase and result in jobs with new specialized tasks.

The impact of AI on the workplace is anticipated to be swift and impactful. A report from the World Economic Form in 2018 projected that these computer programs are expected to create 133 million new jobs by 2022; however, 75 million jobs are likely be displaced. This leaves a net new jobs creation of 58 million due to growth in AI.  An RBC report suggests that Canada will add 2.4 million new jobs to the workplace in the next four years. However, it also suggests that the current generation of young people are not being prepared for these sweeping changes. Workers will need digital skills, that is, the ability to understand digital items, digital technologies and the Internet fluently.  They will also need human skills such as critical thinking, active listening, social perceptiveness, and complex problem-solving skills for job success.

Career counsellors face three immediate challenges: disseminating labour market information, counselling workers who are displaced, and helping existing workers find retraining or upskilling programs. Part of this challenge is the speed at which these predictions are coming true.  Career counsellors and their professional organizations will need to produce materials to provide clients with significant labour market information related to displacement and innovations in the workplace.  Individuals who lose their jobs often experience low self-esteem, depression, and lack of self-confidence. As well, prolonged periods of unemployment can lead to suicide ideation (Milner, Page & LaMontagne, 2013). Counsellors will need to deal with these issues before they help their clients make workforce changes. Counsellors will need upskilling themselves to understand the tasks being performed in these new jobs, and to assess their clients’ current transferable skills for the new jobs. They need knowledge of available educational programs that offer uptraining. Further, career counsellors need to be familiar with government support programs that can help their clients make workplace transitions.

Despite these dire predictions, we suggest it will be more “yellow light” than red or green. Many Canadian employers are small to midsize businesses and may not have the capital to adopt these AI technologies presently. To deal with these rapidly developing workplace needs, we think there will be local, provincial and national responses, a part of which will provide agencies with the needed help to deliver services.

Suggested Reading

A beginner’s guide to automated machine learning & AI. Retrieved May 27 at https://skymind.ai/wiki/automl-automated-machine-learning-ai.

Chowdhry, Amit. (2018). Artificial intelligence to create 58 million new jobs by 2022, says report. Retrieved May 27 at https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2018/09/18/artificial-intelligence-to-create-58-million-new-jobs-by-2022-says-report/#14a40f204d4b.

Human intelligence and intuition critical for young people and jobs of the future. Retrieved May 27 at http://www.rbc.com/newsroom/news/2018/20180326-future-skills-rpt.html

Milner, A., Page, A., & LaMontagne, A. D. (2013). Long-term unemployment and suicide: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one8(1), e51333.

Jeff Landine and John Stewart
Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B.



*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Artificial Narrow Intelligence and its Impact on Jobs

Posted by: Jeff Landine and John Stewart on May 24, 2019 12:43 pm

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is typically divided into Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). ANI deals with machines or robots that can perform a task or function such as welding on a manufacturing assembly line. These robots/machines are designed to perform one task and are not able to adapt to other tasks unless they are programmed specifically. Conversely, AGI deals with computers that are able to perform different levels of human intelligence, such as perceiving, reasoning, problem solving, and interacting in the context with some creativity. Additionally, AGI computers can make decisions to move information between databases.  Presently, much of thinking behind AGI involves future projections based on theory and some recent innovations in deep learning, one of the main Canadian focuses in AI research. In this blog, we want to focus on ANI and its implications for jobs going forward.

The influence of ANI has already been felt in the workplace. For example, during the recessions of the 1980s and 1990s, the manufacturing industry replaced many line workers with robots. Today, there are computer programs with the abilities to do word processing, perform translations, and numerous smart phone Apps that execute many functions via the internet. These innovations are already impacting the way information is accessed and business is transacted.  Predictions are that narrow intelligence will eliminate jobs that require repetitive manual labour, and jobs characterized by standardized tasks. For example, some have forecasted that as many as 42% of all jobs in Canada are in danger of being automated. The degree to which these jobs can be automated will influence their availability in the workplace.

However, due to innovations, new jobs have been and will be created. For example, there are 845 jobs listed under the AI title on LinkedIn Canada’s website, including engineers, technologists and technicians with specific specialities in AI. Due to the structural unemployment created, workers will need to either quickly reskill in AI competencies or transition to other jobs in the workplace. Workers who seek AI jobs will need to acquire new hard skills: problem-solving and analytical thinking skills; skills that enable them to build, maintain and repair software programs and machines; and, the ability to look for technological innovations that enable businesses to remain competitive. Additionally, they need soft skills, such as competent languages skills to explain technical information, and empathy to understand the stress others experience due to work transitions.

It seems quite certain that the number of jobs characterized by repetitive tasks and requiring low cognitive skills will continue to decrease.  This decrease has several implications. Career counsellors will need to understand the scope of AI educational programs, their availability and entrance requirements. Further, counsellors will need labor market information to benefit their clients. For example, individuals, aspiring to jobs in AI and those already in the workforce will need to have had formative education in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) or acquire it to complete technician and technology programs in computer design, operations, and maintenance. Those currently in school will need to master STEM courses if they intend to choose educational paths leading to careers in AI. AI specialists in the workforce will need to upgrade continually to keep up with innovations in their field. And, employers will need to develop policies that enable workers to take educational leaves regularly to master changes issuing from technological innovations.

Jeff Landine and John Stewart
Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B.

Suggested Readings
Retrieved on March 20, at: www.cifar.ca.
Retrieved on March 20, at: www.cifar.ca/ai/”pan-canadian-artificial-intelligence-strategy.”
Retrieved March 20, at: www.+RG-“CPA-Introduction-to-AI-What-You-Need-to-Know”-February-2019.pd.
Retrieved March 20, at: sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/421/SOCI/reports/”RoboticsAI3D”Final_Web_e.pdf.
Retrieved on March 20, at: www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/”4-ways-ai-artificial-intelligence-impact-financial-job-market.”



*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

The Impending Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the Work Force

Posted by: Jeff Landine and John Stewart on April 23, 2019 2:50 pm

Throughout our research, we have found that there is nothing more embedded into our lives than career.  As we contribute to the Counselling Connect Blog, our intention is to explicate, using a mix of research and reflective opinions, some of the dynamics that impact career. We start with a consideration of Artificial Intelligence (AI).  AI is a branch of computer science that focuses on programing computers with the ability to resemble intelligent behaviors including learning, reasoning, planning, observing and/or processing language.  We think this blog, plus several future blogs, will inform career counsellors in two ways: understanding the impact of AI on careers; and counselling clients entering the workforce, or who are displaced due to AI innovations. As a disclaimer, our expertise lies in the realm of Career Psychology and not in AI; however, we are doing a lot of reading on the subject.  In this blog, we want to examine some of the proposed advantages and disadvantages concerning the impact of AI on future job availability.

Recent advancements in AI suggest that we are in a “fourth industrial revolution,” but with significantly more implications than previous revolutions. We think there is no doubt that AI will take over some jobs due to such technological innovations as robotics, machine learning, and 3-D printing; and through the impact of AI on manufacturing, retail jobs, and in other domains such as legal and medical.  It seems that the question is not when, but how rapidly and profoundly automation will change the workplace.  Many think that AI will displace most jobs requiring manual and routine labour – machines can do it faster and with more accuracy. Further, with the advent of self-driving vehicles, many truck drivers, couriers and taxis will be displaced. Recent developments in diagnostic work using computers will impact the medical profession. Currently computers can diagnose abnormalities in x-rays with as much accuracy as radiologists.

On the positive side, AI can be an aid to workers.  Instead of fearing that robots and AI might reach a “singularity” and replace workers, “multiplicity” proposes that humans will work with machines to solve problems and develop leading-edge technology.  Automation will create new jobs not presently conceived of, just as personal computers did in the past. For example, in Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI, Paul Daugherty and Jim Wilson envision two categories of workers – explainers and trainers, both illustrating the idea of intelligence augmentation, that AI systems can be designed to augment human work behavior.  Explainers will help humans work with machines and trainers will develop AI systems to do workplace tasks.  For example, explainers will work in clarifying decisions made by computer algorithms and explaining them to supervisors and executives. And presently, trainers are developing chatbots that, in response to human consumers, will continue to improve on language recognition to better serve them.

In conclusion, we think that the outlook will be more favourable than bleak. Certainly, there will be job changes and job loss.  However, jobs taken over by machines will not diminish the work to be done. Quite the contrary, just as electronics and information technology created more jobs than were lost, AI will do the same.  We see several implications for career counsellors and their practice.  At the present we do not see counsellors being replaced by chatbots/robots due to the need for client empathy, something that AI has not been able to simulate yet. However, it is our opinion that the information that informs the practice will need to be upgraded on a regular basis.  Most likely, this information will be dispensed by a chatbot or other a computer programmed to process human speech. Counsellors will need some degree of understanding to help clients process the changing aspects of the skills/tasks need in some work domains such as business, management, medicine, and law.  Counsellors will need to upgrade regularly their knowledge of new jobs created from advances in AI, including their location, and the entrance requirements of educational programs and their costs leading to employment in these jobs.

Jeff Landine and John Stewart
Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, N.B.

Footnote:
The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanize production. The Second used electric power to create mass production. The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production. The Fourth is fusing together technologies that are blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.
Suggested Readings:
Daughterty, P. R. and H. J. Wilson (2018). Human + machine: reimaging work in the age of AI. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.
Retrieved on February 13, at: https://www.wired.com/wiredinsider/2018/04/ai-future-work.
Retrieved on February 13 at: https://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-ai-everything-you-need-to-know-about-artificial-intelligence/
Retrieved on February 13 at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/washingtonbytes/2018/08/18/there-is-work-to-be-done-ai-and-the-future-of-work/#441a32032665



*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA