Worried About AI Taking Human Jobs? AI Expert Hassan Taher Has Some Good News.

Growing up in the Houston-area city of Beaumont, Texas, Hassan Taher learned to value the importance of a fundamental STEM education as a child thanks to his engineer father and math teacher mother. Other foundational forces in young Taher’s life include science fiction writers like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, who came not only with promises of what technology can offer but ample warnings of what the future might bring. As a young man, he expanded his studies of technological opportunities and threats as a computer science student and a member of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Club at the University of North Texas in Denton.

Currently residing in Los Angeles, California, Taher serves a variety of business clients as an AI consultant with Taher AI Solutions. He is also an accomplished writer who has published a diverse array of articles that address subjects related to AI, its applications, and its unintended consequences. As the author of AI and Ethics: Navigating the Moral Maze and The Rise of Intelligent Machines, he examined many of the insecurities and fears that people have about AI. His The Future of Work in an AI-Powered World provided an in-depth analysis of AI’s all-too-real impact on employment and work as we know it.

As a thought leader on the effects of AI on workers, Hassan Taher had to comment on a recent whitepaper by the British AI software firm Automated Analytics. Titled “Unlocking Data, Unlocking People: Harnessing the Power of AI to Transform Your Business” this whitepaper demonstrates that modern AI is more than capable of automating repetitive and mundane tasks, but it still falls considerably short when it comes to replacing the essential spark of creativity, emotional intelligence, and decision-making skills of human beings. As quantitative proof of its findings, Automated Analytics reported that not one of its 5,000 clients throughout the United Kingdom and the United States laid off a single staff member as a result of AI implementation.

Reporting on the Automated Analytics whitepaper, AI News sums up its core message quite succinctly: “Fears that AI will lead to mass job losses are unfounded.” In fact, the whitepaper posits that AI might actually be a catalyst for employment sector growth.

“The growing presence of artificial intelligence (AI) in industries has generated concerns about its impact on the workforce, particularly around potential job losses” writes Taher. “This fear, although widespread, may be based on misconceptions about how AI will actually reshape work.”

Hassan Taher goes on to describe an idyllic future in which AI has changed the employment landscape for the better. “Rather than eliminating jobs on a massive scale, AI has the potential to revolutionize industries by enhancing productivity and opening new opportunities,” he writes. “Instead of displacing workers, AI will likely transform job roles and create new ones, provided that workers are adequately prepared for this shift.” Taher predicts that this shift will generally lead workers away from mind-numbingly routine tasks such as data entry and toward strategic decision-making, relationship management, and other functions that demand higher-level human thought.

Taher’s conclusions echo those of countless studies into the employment impacts of AI. Even studies that are rather critical of AI’s effect on workers contend that its negative ramifications can be significantly moderated through responsible tech employment, implementation, and management. For example, the 2023 Old Dominion University report “The Analysis and Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Job Loss” predicts that AI tech will result in job loss across various industries for the foreseeable future. “Although it creates an industry for technical jobs in AI, it significantly threatens job security across many fields,” reads the report. “However, with adequate mitigation measures, employees can lessen the risk of unemployment caused by AI and limit its harmful implications across various industries.”

Assessing the Old Dominion University report, Hassan Taher highlights its assertion that reskilling and upskilling are essential for any workforce that is ready to transition to an AI-driven landscape. “Workers who remain adaptable and develop digital literacy will be in high demand as they become capable of operating alongside AI technologies,” writes Taher. He goes on to describe workforce integration of AI as “more about shifting the nature of the work rather than eliminating positions altogether.”

“Instead of leading to job losses, AI is being used to upskill workers, allowing them to transition into new roles that require higher-level expertise” Taher reports. He also points out the many ways that the AI tech sector is actually driving job creation. “According to research, AI can help businesses optimize efficiency, which in turn can fuel economic growth and create new roles,” he writes. “These new jobs often emerge in industries that either did not exist previously or have been redefined by AI technologies.”

Because the development and management of AI doesn’t happen without human leadership and action, the AI tech sector employs a steadily expanding workforce directly. “AI development requires human oversight to ensure ethical standards are met, that systems function as intended, and that AI models are trained correctly” Hassan Taher reports. “This creates opportunities for professionals in fields such as AI ethics, compliance, and regulation.”

AI can also be a powerful facilitator of employment as long as it is used responsibly and ethically. For example, AI can greatly streamline hiring processes, but it must be programmed to avoid perpetuating the existing societal biases of the human beings it serves. Otherwise, worthy job candidates might be lost due to unintended prejudice. As humans, we must ensure that AI reflects the best rather than the worst of us.

This spirit of ethical use and careful oversight must fuel all our interactions with AI, according to Hassan Taher. “By understanding AI’s limitations and potential, businesses can unlock new possibilities while ensuring that the workforce remains central to their success,” he writes. “AI will continue to shape industries in unexpected ways, but those who are prepared will not only survive the changes but thrive within them.”