Changing Quality and Nature of Work Using Artificial Intelligence in Professional Roles

In today’s society, automation technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) are being used to replace not only simple tasks but also the tasks requiring specialized knowledge and skills. Systems for replacing the tasks of professionals are being developed to allow AI to acquire the knowledge and skills of experienced workers, as well as to allow new hires to derive appropriate answers. For example, in the insurance industry, detecting fraudulent claims is the responsibility of experienced workers with a wide range of knowledge and expertise; thus, it cannot be easily performed by new recruits. Companies allow AI to make simple decisions such that experienced workers need not perform basic tasks. In the medical field, AI is used in image diagnosis to avoid the risk of medical lawsuits due to misdiagnosis and to compensate for the inadequate experience of new doctors. In job interviews, AI, through its acquisition of the knowledge of experienced workers, is used to help new employees make moderate decisions. Although the use of AI in these cases is efficient for the current organization, it does not consider the skill improvement of new employees who complete tasks by receiving answers that they do not understand from AI. However, new employees who do not learn the essentials cannot acquire the skills to understand when the system changes or when AI provides an incorrect answer. Thus, instead of ruminating on the content of their work based on their own expertise, they will be tasked to perform minor “operations,” where AI provides a suitable answer for them. The quality of professional jobs may change and the number of jobs classified as associate professional or clerical may increase.