Author: Leinita Panda, Graphics: Business Review at Berkeley
The BRB Bottomline: It is no surprise that workers are losing jobs due to automation, but what skills must they develop in order to harness AI, rather than be overtaken by it?
Introduction
The release of ChatGPT was met with cautionary and astonished reactions worldwide, yet in the corporate world it has inspired curiosity. As leaders in various industries realized the potential of this new technology, some have already defined AI as a necessary tool to increase productivity, shifting hiring practices from low-skilled jobs to higher-level strategy roles. The staff of the American Writers and Artists Institute discussed how their writers could use ChatGPT to complete time-consuming tasks more efficiently and turn their focus toward content planning and search engine optimization. President Rebecca Matter even organized a webinar on the implications of using such technology and over 3,000 people signed up to learn of what may happen within their job market. With the new changes, Matter remains optimistic about opportunities to pursue strategic goals without the hindrance of short-form copy projects.
However, AI’s capabilities and consequences for replacing such occupations are yet to be fully examined. In 2020, the World Economic Forum reported that the workforce is automating at a rapid pace, estimated to displace 85 million jobs over the next five years, and that the most competitive businesses will be those that take advantage of new automation to upskill current employees. This may be disastrous for those in roles that do not require human ingenuity, as these workers will either have to find a way to work alongside machines or else be replaced by them. As written in Forbes, “Developing our human, “soft” skills — problem solving, creative thinking, communication and so on — will make us more ready to transition into future-proof roles that will inevitably emerge.”
AI-Driven Automation in Marketing
Automating Repetitive Tasks
Many have remained hopeful by proposing to adapt current employees to changes with AI, rather than assuming workers will be replaced by them. Marketing is one field where this is a prevalent aim, especially regarding copy writing and image generation. Principal product-marketing manager Dan Bettinger claims that using language models has helped him improve his copywriting and build creative outlines for his articles and blog posts, saving at least an hour a day. Bettinger took an online course on AI to learn how it may be applied to his career through strategic prompting, using it to help with additional ideas and fix issues he may have missed. His main takeaway was that results are based on one’s ability to craft useful prompts, and he added “You still have to fact check it because of hallucinations and you still want to put a little tweak on it to make it yours.” Although artificial intelligence is not foolproof, it indicates some promising economic outcomes for the future.
Klarna’s Statement
While automation is exciting, some companies seem eager to crack down on employees in order to improve productivity while cutting down costs. In 2024, Klarna’s marketing chief announced that it cut $10 million in annual savings, a significant portion due to new use of AI. Generative tools both saved money on image production costs and even slashed the development timeline from six weeks to seven days. The marketing chief, David Sandstrom, did admit “the vast majority of the things that we’ve been cutting down on are things that are — unfortunately, I have to say — lower down the value chain,” indicating that many of their employees did indeed lose jobs to AI.
Unions are aware of the implications of AI growth and working to protect workers through calls for legislation, but Klarna continues to focus on profitability. Klarna’s CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, told the BBC that the company would reduce its workforce through a hiring freeze, meaning that the remaining employees are to deal with a greater workload. This could be positive in terms of growing high-skilled workers’ salaries, but it is also crucial for the government to find a way to address those losing their jobs. Klarna, a major advocate of this technology, is among the first in a sweeping shift toward companies prioritizing automated productivity over routine paid labor. In upcoming years, it will be increasingly important that the labor force trains to harness artificial intelligence, rather than being overtaken by it.
Take Home Points
- Job automation is becoming a more prevalent reality in many industries, especially those related to writing and marketing.
- AI has been met with both excitement and horror, as workers are unsure if they will be laid off in pursuit of corporate profitability.
- Many chief marketing officers have focused on adapting with AI, using it to aid low-effort skills so they can spend more time on strategic marketing.
- Klarna, a Swedish fintech company, has been transparent about how they are using AI to increase efficiency and are cutting costs by decreasing employees.
- Experts believe that high-value skills will become more important over the years, and the workforce must train to adapt with AI.