Latest / RealTalkwithMikeD / Episode 63 - Is “AI” coming for our jobs?

Transcript

Episode 63 - Is “AI” coming for our jobs? · RealTalkwithMikeD

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Real Talk with Mike D. All right, welcome
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: back to Real Talk with Mike D, the place where
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: we talk about real life, real struggles, real fears, and
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: the things a lot of people are thinking about but
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: might be afraid to say out loud. Ladies and gentlemen,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: I am your host, Mike D, and today we're talking
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: about something that's becoming a serious concern for a whole
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  Speaker 1: lot of people. Artificial intelligence, AI. There's two little letters
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: that seem to be popping up everywhere you look. You
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: turn on the television and somebody's talking about AI. You
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: go on social media and somebody's showing you how AI
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  Speaker 1: can write a book, make a video, create music, answer questions,
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  Speaker 1: design a website, and probably order your lunch before you
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: even know you're hungry. Now that is insane. And now
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  Speaker 1: we're hearing that AI might take over people's jobs. And
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: that brings up a pretty scary question. What happens when
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: the machine can do your job better, faster, and cheaper
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  Speaker 1: than you can? Ladies and gentlemen, let that sink in
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: for a minute. Because we're not just talking about technology here,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: we're talking about people's lives. We're talking about mortgages, rent, groceries,
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: car payments, health insurance, raising children, and trying to make
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: ends meet in a world where everything already cost a fortune.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: And now, on top of all that, some people are
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: wondering whether the job they've worked years to build could
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: eventually disappear. That is a lot to think about. Now,
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: let me ask you one question. Have you ever looked
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: at the world today and thought, what the hell is
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: going on? I mean, seriously. You wake up in the morning,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: you grab your coffee, you turn on your phone and
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: discover that something else has changed overnight. There's a new app,
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: a new computer program, a new robot. A new piece
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: of technology that can supposedly do something that used to
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: require an entire team of people. And you're sitting there thinking,
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: can I just finish my coffee before you replace half
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: the workforce? Because it feels like everything is moving at
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: a million miles an hour. Technology has always changed the
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: way people work. We went from handwritten letters to typewriters,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: from typewriters to computers, and from paper files to digital systems.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: But AI feels different to a lot of people. And
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: why is that? Well, because previous technologies have often helped
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: people do their jobs. Now, AI is increasingly capable of
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  Speaker 1: performing parts of the jobs themselves. It can draft emails,
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  Speaker 1: summarize documents, analyze information, answer customer questions, generate images, and
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: assist with computer programming. And I'm not going to lie,
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: that sounds impressive. but it's also intimidating. Because when you
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: hear about a computer program doing in seconds something that
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: used to take a person hours, you start wondering what
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: that means for the person who used to spend those
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: hours doing it. And that is a legitimate concern. Now,
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: I'm not saying every job is going to disappear tomorrow.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: That is not realistic. But pretending that AI won't change
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: the workplace would just be unrealistic. The truth is, Some
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: jobs will change dramatically. Some tasks may disappear. Some positions
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: could be eliminated. Other jobs will emerge and some people
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: will find new opportunities. But here's the problem. When people
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: talk about the future of technology, they often talk about productivity, efficiency,
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: and profits. They talk about how much money a company
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: can save. But how often do we stop and talk
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: about the person who might lose their paycheck? Because that
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: person has a life outside the office. They have responsibilities.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: They have bills. They have a family. And they deserve
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: to know where they stand. Now, I want to make
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: this personal just for a moment. Imagine you've worked at
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  Speaker 1: the same company for 15, maybe 20 years. You've shown
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: up on time. You've done your job. You've dealt with
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: difficult customers. You've had stressful days, unreasonable deadlines, and everything
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: else that comes with working for a living. You've made sacrifices.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Maybe you've missed family events because you had to work.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: Maybe you've gotten out of bed when you were exhausted
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: because people were counting on you. Maybe you stayed late
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: to cover shifts and done everything you could to be
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: a dependable employee. Then one day your company announces that
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: it's introducing AI to improve efficiency. And at first, it
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: sounds harmless. Management says it's just a tool. It's going
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: to help everybody work smarter. Nobody needs to worry. And maybe, initially,
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  Speaker 1: that's true. But then you notice that fewer people are
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: being hired. Certain departments are getting smaller. Some of the
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: work you used to do is now being handled by software.
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  Speaker 1: And suddenly, a thought enters your mind. Am I next?
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  Speaker 1: That's a frightening question because you've spent years building your
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: life around the job. The idea of losing it isn't
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  Speaker 1: just about losing a position, it's about losing security. It's
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  Speaker 1: about wondering how you're going to pay your bills next month.
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  Speaker 1: It's about wondering whether you'll find another job at your age.
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  Speaker 1: It's about asking yourself whether your experience still matters in
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  Speaker 1: a world that seems obsessed with whatever is new. And
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  Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen, those fears are real. People shouldn't be
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: made to feel foolish for worrying about their future. You
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: can be excited about technology and its progress and still
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: be concerned about what it means for working people because
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: both things are true. And if you're sitting at your
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: kitchen table at night looking at your bills and wondering
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  Speaker 1: whether your job will still exist five years from now,
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  Speaker 1: I want you to know something. You're not being ridiculous.
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  Speaker 1: You're thinking about your future. That's what responsible people do. Now,
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  Speaker 1: I want to slow down just for one second, because
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  Speaker 1: sometimes the conversation about AI gets a little out of control.
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  Speaker 1: You would think that some of these machines are going
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  Speaker 1: to wake up tomorrow, put on a suit, walk into
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  Speaker 1: the office, take your employee badge, and tell you to
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  Speaker 1: clean out your desk. Really? Come on. We're not there.
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  Speaker 1: That's not going to happen. And we shouldn't confuse what
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  Speaker 1: AI can do with what it can do reliably, responsibly,
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  Speaker 1: and independently in every situation. AI can perform many tasks
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  Speaker 1: incredibly well. But it can also make mistakes, misunderstand context,
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  Speaker 1: produce incorrect information, and struggle with situations that require real-world judgment.
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  Speaker 1: Human beings... bring things to work that aren't easily measured
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  Speaker 1: by a computer program. We bring experience. We bring compassion.
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  Speaker 1: We understand that sometimes the person sitting across from us
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  Speaker 1: doesn't need a perfect answer. They need somebody to listen.
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  Speaker 1: We understand that life isn't always a neat little spreadsheet.
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  Speaker 1: Think about people who work in healthcare. A computer can
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: help organize medical information. But caring for a frightened patient
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  Speaker 1: involves communication, judgment, and a human connection. Now, let's think
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  Speaker 1: about a teacher. The most important job there is. AI
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  Speaker 1: can explain a math problem. But a great teacher also
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: notices when a student is struggling, losing confidence, or needs encouragement.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: How about a skilled tradesperson, carpenter, plumber, electrician? maintenance, so
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  Speaker 1: on and such. You know, you can give a machine instructions,
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  Speaker 1: but the physical world is unpredictable. Problems arise that require
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: practical experience, adaptability, and responsibility. And think about leadership. You
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: can generate a report using AI, but somebody still has
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: to make difficult decisions and accept responsibility for the consequences.
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  Speaker 1: Human skills still matter. That doesn't mean every profession is
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: safe from disruption. It means we need more thoughtful conversations
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  Speaker 1: that simply declaring that AI will replace everyone. The bigger
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: question isn't just whether AI can perform a task. It's
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  Speaker 1: whether a company will choose to use AI for the task,
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  Speaker 1: how well the system works, what it costs, and what
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: risks it creates, and what customers and employees actually need.
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  Speaker 1: Those decisions will shape the future of work, and those
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  Speaker 1: decisions deserve serious attention. Now, I want to talk to
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  Speaker 1: you a little bit about something that really gets to me.
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  Speaker 1: You know, a lot of people are already struggling financially.
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  Speaker 1: They're working full-time and still having trouble paying their bills.
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: They're watching the price of groceries, housing, utilities, and insurance
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: eat up their paychecks. They're trying to save money, but
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: there's barely anything to save. Some people are raising children.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: Some are caring for aging parents. Some are single parents
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  Speaker 1: trying to hold children. to everything they have. And now
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  Speaker 1: they're being told that AI could change the job market.
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  Speaker 1: How much uncertainty can one person handle? Seriously, it's hard
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  Speaker 1: enough to go to work every day when you're worried
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  Speaker 1: about money. It's hard enough to smile at people when
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: your mind is racing through a list of bills you
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: haven't even paid yet. Now imagine adding the fear that
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: the job you depend on could eventually be automated. That
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: can affect your sleep. That can affect your confidence. But
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: most importantly, that can affect your mental health. You might
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: start wondering whether you need to go back to school,
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  Speaker 1: learn new technology, maybe change careers. or somehow reinvent yourself
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: while you're still working 40 hours a week. Seriously, let's
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: be honest. Not everybody has the money to go back
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  Speaker 1: to school. Not everybody has the time to take courses
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  Speaker 1: after work. Not everybody can afford to quit a job
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  Speaker 1: and start over. People have responsibilities. They can't just snap
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  Speaker 1: their fingers and become software engineers because somebody on the
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: internet said, AI is the future. Somebody has to pay
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: the mortgage. Somebody has to buy the groceries. Somebody has
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: to keep the lights on. And that's why I believe
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  Speaker 1: this conversation needs to include ordinary working people. Not just executives.
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  Speaker 1: Not just technology experts. Not just investors looking at the
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  Speaker 1: next big opportunity. The people whose livelihoods are at stake
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  Speaker 1: need a voice too. Because technology, And the progress of
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  Speaker 1: technology shouldn't be measured only by how much money it
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  Speaker 1: saves the company. We should also ask whether it improves
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: people's lives. I think that's important. We should ask whether
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  Speaker 1: it improves people's lives. Because whose life doesn't need to
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: be improved these days? I think everybody you'd use a
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: little bit of improvement in some shape or form. But
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  Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen, that is going to do it for
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  Speaker 1: today's episode. I greatly appreciate you being here. I greatly
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: appreciate you listening. And until the next episode, please be
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: the reason someone smiles and have a wonderful day. Thank you.