We may often feel confused when talking about artificial intelligence (AI) and its relevance today. It is therefore important to be clear that, unlike other automation processes that have been tried before and throughout history, rather focused on repetitive tasks, AI refers to any technology that enables computers to imitate human abilities.
What Is Artificial Intelligence?
When we talk about AI we talk about computer systems capable of detecting their environment, thinking, learning and making decisions based on the inputs they receive and their objectives. These are divided into four main types: assisted intelligence, augmented intelligence, automated intelligence, and autonomous intelligence.
With AI, machines can learn from experiences, adapt, and exhibit behaviors similar to those of a human, thanks to unlimited processing power and the growth of big data to fuel these systems.
Implementations of Artificial Intelligence
The AI applications that exist today are based on different technologies:
- Large-Scale Machine Learning
- Deep Learning
- Natural Language Processing
- Collaborative Systems
- Computer Vision
- Algorithmic Game Theory
- Computational Social Choice
- Robotic Process Automation (Soft Robotics)
These possibilities have changed the way machines interact with humans in different areas, including one of the main areas of human life: work.
How Did Technological Changes Begin in the Workplace?
Historically, labor automation has advanced through machinery. Since the First Industrial Revolution, workers have expressed discomfort with machines that were supposedly “taking their jobs”—even rebelling to the point of destroying them.
Indeed, factories and machines did drive artisans out of business; but at the same time, they created new job opportunities that complemented the work of machines.
Thus, the labour market has adapted to the technological changes presented by the Second Industrial Revolution, in which electricity was introduced, and the Third, in which the use of computers and the Internet became widespread.
Today, technology is evolving at such a fast pace that it’s often described as a “technological tsunami.” This wave of innovations forms what we call the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
This phenomenon, combined with population aging and other trends, will shape the future of work, a future in constant transformation that faces great risks, but at the same time opportunities.
How Is Artificial Intelligence Implemented in the Workplace?
AI offers vast opportunities to optimize production and business processes. It can enhance productivity, safety, and the speed of workflow.
The use of AI in the working environment today is mainly in the following fields:
- Human Resources Management
In the management of human capital, AI is applicable from the hiring processes, using this technology to evaluate interviews with less biases or prejudices than humans, and to evaluate verbal and nonverbal signals.
Likewise, AI is useful for making correct decisions about employees. It allows to evaluate information on the performance, wages and costs of the workforce in relation to the business strategy.
As for performance monitoring, AI can involve big data analysis through digital tools to measure the performance of workers and understand it in relation to personal planning, talent management and operations management.
Performance management may also include ensuring occupational health and safety measures in the working environment, fundamental labour rights, recognized by the ILO since the 110th Labour Conference held in 2022.
However, the use of AI in performance management can present risks. It is essential to respect workers’ privacy to strike a balance between oversight and well-being. The Inter-American Development Bank’s online course, How to Use Artificial Intelligence Responsibly, addresses the principles, challenges, and opportunities of ethical AI use in the public sector, aiming to mitigate the risks associated with this technology.
- Public Employment Services Matching
AI can enhance public employment services by improving employability profiling, job matching, and connecting job seekers with opportunities.
In Sweden, for example, AI tools analyze employment databases to classify job seekers based on how close or far they are from reentering the workforce, estimating how long it might take for them to find a job.
In Peru, AI helps evaluate various dimensions of job seekers’ profiles and compares them to labor market demands, guiding them toward relevant training opportunities.
- Cobotization: Cobots and Chatbots
Technology now enhances automation by enabling machines to take on cognitive tasks, not just repetitive ones. This leads to “cobotization”, the collaboration between people and machines, where AI, robots, and human workers converge.
Cobots or collaborative robots are robots with integrated AI that are safe to work with. They are equipped with sensors that allow them to stop or enter safe mode when interrupted.
There are also chatbots, which are systems capable of resolving basic queries through text, generally applicable to customer services, enabling workers to deal with more complex tasks.
- Wearable Technologies
Wearable technologies are devices that people can carry over their bodies, with technological and connectivity functionalities, as well as sensors.
In factories, these include GPS and radio frequency sensors, as well as smart glasses with screens and augmented or virtual reality features. These glasses help train and assist workers with dynamic tasks.
However, using wearables to monitor work activities can also raise concerns about privacy and surveillance.
- Gig Economy
The gig economy is based on specific jobs performed sporadically for different clients. Some of its characteristics are the work through the Internet, usually on a digital platform, and the decentralization of tasks.
This work model allows freelancers to perform tasks or projects for clients around the world, and expand the possibilities of connecting the supply of services with global demand.
Who Might Be Affected by AI?
Much like workers in the past, today’s workforce faces the threat of being replaced by machines—just as artisans were during the First Industrial Revolution.
Although there are no precise figures on the number of workers who may be affected by the introduction of AI in working environments, there is a consensus that those most likely to be affected will be people dealing with repetitive or routine tasks.
Opportunities Created by Artificial Intelligence: New Jobs
Even though AI and related technologies may eliminate some jobs, as happened with elevator operators in the 20th century, digital transformation also opens up new opportunities.
Some emerging job trends include:
- Jobs in the IT Sector (Even Without Traditional Degrees)
There will be growing demand for workers to develop, improve, maintain, and program AI systems and other new technologies. In this context, the traditional value of formal degrees is starting to be questioned. It is becoming increasingly common for IT companies to hire people without postsecondary education but with alternative credentials.
- Freelance and Gig Economy Jobs
Digital platforms that use AI algorithms facilitate the incorporation of people into the gig economy we talked about earlier. They also support e-lancing, enabling independent workers to serve multiple clients at once.
- Social media and web jobs
The exposure that social media offers has created a new role: content creators and influencers who generate income through the views and engagement their content receives on various platforms.
- Jobs in the orange economy
The orange economy refers to jobs in industries that are generated in art, design, music, fashion, crafts and other forms of entertainment. Nowadays ,one can be a consumer and a producer at the same time.
Education and Training: The Key to Navigating AI’s Impact on the Workforce
To address the challenges presented by AI, the solution lies in workforce training. It is crucial for Latin America’s labor force to acquire digital skills to boost local business productivity and attract foreign investment by offering a skilled workforce.
In this sense, the training of workers must cover three basic areas:
Digital Skills
Programming skills and profiles with technical understanding to facilitate interaction with AI applications in their various phases.
Socioemotional Skills
Given the evolution of AI and technology it is necessary to promote the generation of socio-emotional skills. For example, empathy, growth mindset, self-knowledge, emotion management, visualization and goal achievement, and collaborative work.
Lifelong Learning
The technological tsunami is advancing so fast that acquiring a single degree, qualification or certification will no longer be enough. It is necessary to consider that we will have to be in constant training and updating, in processes of conversion and improvement of the skills to adapt to the evolution of the technology.
As we take action to address the challenges posed by AI and other emerging technologies, social dialogue is essential. That means engaging governments, employers, and workers in collective decision-making around policies and regulations that respond to these advancements.
Both public and private sectors must come together to support workers through this digital transformation—especially the integration of artificial intelligence—so that people are equipped to seize the opportunities these technologies bring.
What do you think about the applications of AI in the world of work? Let us know in the comments.
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