Do you know what a “knowledge worker” is? It is someone who works in fields like software development and marketing, and if you know people in those roles, McKinsey said in a new report that they should start updating their resume or finding a new career.
According to this report, the boom in “generative” AI means there could be a lot of job losses for knowledge workers; not to sound too dire, but the report said that as much as 70% of the time workers spend completing tasks could be done by AI.
This could mean as much as a $4.4 trillion boost to our GDP, but it would mean many unemployed people. Traditionally, these were high-paying jobs and provided more job security than blue-collar workers have.
Software engineers will most likely make the move to generative AI to reduce the amount of time they spend writing code.
Another place you could see automation taking over is in customer service operations where AI-powered chatbots can create fast and personalized responses to difficult questions.
These changes are not happening overnight. The technology is in its very early stage, and it could be decades before it can be applied at scale.
Rodney Zemmel is a senior partner at McKinsey, and he said when he asks corporate managers about how they use AI technologies, he’s often told: “for writing birthday poems and toasts.”
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