Experts and the general public alike all wonder what the future will look like, particularly when it comes to the future impact of Artificial Intelligence. While AI has become a more mainstream topic in 2024, thanks in part to the pioneering work of ChatGPT by OpenAI and the work of other tech leaders like Microsoft and Google (Alphabet) among many others, it is important to understand we are still in the very early stages of the artificial intelligence era.
In a sense, AI already has disrupted the flow of the technology industry, and it will continue to do much more, but there are other industries imminently ready to be impacted by artificial intelligence also. But which ones?
Do you wonder what industries and jobs could be disrupted by Artificial Intelligence soon?
At this point, wondering what will happen when artificially intelligent systems become powerful enough to start meaningfully enhancing, or in some cases possibly replacing, human jobs on a massive scale would be a scenario that everyone may consider pondering for the sake of information gathering if nothing else. Although the thought of disrupting or even replacing human jobs may sound scary, some of the best use cases for AI could be helping to take humans out of dangerous (sometimes even life threatening) work.
Regardless of your current opinion of AI, there are several major industries and many jobs that AI could disrupt in the near future, and it may benefit you to understand now some of the possible careers that may be impacted. Of course, none of these jobs are guaranteed to be impacted by AI at all- but the more you know, the more you can make your own opinions. Now, please read on to learn more about a few industries and various jobs AI could disrupt (or replace) soon.
3 Industries AI Could Disrupt In 2024
1) Defense Industry, Pilots, Battlefield Soldiers and Ground Troops
When it comes to the Defense Industry, certainly AI is already being used in many capacities when you consider autonomous drones and other technologies. However, according to recent disclosures by the US Military, AI in warfare may get enhanced to a new level and global militaries will (hopefully) work in cooperation to ensure safe usage of this new superpower. Now, when you think about some ways AI could be positively used to disrupt the defense industry, a few things come quickly to mind.
Realistically, while many military operations are rightfully secret, it’s not any secret at all that AI is going to have a massive impact on militaries across the world which will be aided by new advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and weaponry, and which will allow their ground soldiers to become safer and more lethal when on the battlefield. According to reporting by the Washington Post, AI may even become authorized to make medical decisions if the US Government has the option, among other important tasks usually delegated to human commanders. Certainly, things could advance quickly, and you never know how much AI will impact any line of work. However, based on all indications, one of the Defense Industry’s goals is to have AI help battlefield soldiers and ground troops to stay safer in the near future. Stay tuned to these developments if it’s of interest to you, as you never know what groundbreaking technology you may find. Also, Pilots in militaries everywhere have started to see more and more usage of drones (now becoming more autonomous and powered with AI) for dangerous missions- helping to save humans from entering into many tough scenarios. Cyber warfare is one other capability of AI which is something militaries must protect against happening, thus one reason why cooperation on AI will be important to achieve while we see AI undoubtedly have a further impact on military operations globally as we progress through 2024 and beyond.
2) Finance Industry, Analysts, Traders, Portfolio Managers, Bank Employees, Accountants, and more.
Depending on legislation and certain other outcomes, the “doomsday AI” sort of scenario would be some dystopian future where virtually the entire finance industry could be in jeopardy of losing their work if AI is permitted the option to fully takeover… and this will not happen in 2024 regardless because the infrastructure isn’t in place and technology isn’t overall advanced enough yet. More likely than not, Finance may see proceed in a scenario where all positions are able to simply be enhanced by AI products. With new AI advances that help employees, perhaps every finance worker could become more efficient. At the current moment, algorithmic trading systems and other AI is already being deployed in the finance industry, but future advances in AI have the ability to completely revolutionize finance.
3) Retail Industry, Tellers, Warehouse Positions, and more.
According to a study published by KPMG, more than half of retail leaders said the COVID-19 pandemic caused them to speed up their adoption of artificial intelligence in business. The same study indicates that retail business executives generally also feel 90% of their employees do have the skills needed for AI adoption. Based on this mindset, it sounds like the future of retail may be a coexistence between human workers and AI systems made to enhance human productivity. While there are also self-checkout options everywhere- they certainly need human oversight and are hardly AI-powered. Plus, according to a recent LinkedIn article, more than 50% of people still prefer to check out with a cashier when shopping. While incorporating AI into operations, some stores in 2024 have also even started to utilize facial recognition to deter theft and for other purposes.
However, other positions in the retail industry are already being further disrupted by AI and automation, such as warehouse jobs where automated robots powered by AI have started to take taxing positions away from human workers. Over the long term, and even through 2024, retail will be a main industry to watch when it comes to the impact of AI.
Of course, many of the AI products we mentioned in this article are meant to enhance the productivity of human workers- which is in important distinction because it means workers are not being replaced in these businesses plans currently. However, for more labor-intensive roles, it would not be a surprise to see some roles start to be replaced. Lastly, while 3 industries are highlighted in this article, it could be argued artificial intelligence may end up impacting every industry at some level in 2024 and beyond. Now that you’re more of an expert on the potential industries AI may impact soon, perhaps you’ll be able to help teach your friends a few things the next time your conversations turn to the topic of artificial intelligence.
