The rise of generative AI, like chatbots and image generators, has shaken up the tech industry — many companies are quickly diving into the tech, designing new artificial intelligence tools and getting executives to promise investors that has forced them to believe that this development will revolutionize the world and help them create much more. of money Long-standing concerns about AI taking jobs away from humans have grown as lawmakers debate how to legislate the tech.
Some people who write for a living have already lost their jobs as companies turn to chatbots for advertising or social media copy. Hollywood writers last year won protections against working with AI-generated content as part of their new union contract. Many computer coders say they use AI to code, which helps them move faster. A study released in 2023 by the Pew Research Center says that about 20 percent of American workers are in jobs with high exposure to AI, such as tax preparers, copywriters and web developers.
But overall, it’s unclear how the AI revolution will meaningfully affect work. It is also uncertain what exactly this new group will do.
Cisco’s announcement about the group said it will focus on producing a report with “actionable insights for business leaders and workers.” It will study how AI can transform work for 56 types of technology jobs, but the announcement did not detail what those jobs are. A Cisco spokesperson said the companies are working to determine which jobs the report will focus on. Spokesmen for Google, Microsoft, the CWA and the AFL-CIO did not respond to requests for more information about the group.
Corporations often form working groups or write reports on issues facing their industries to advance the debate in their favor. Tech companies have been among the biggest spenders on lobbying over the past decade, first as Congress tried to regulate social media and now as lawmakers turn their attention to AI.
Many tech executives have talked publicly about “reskilling” or “up-skilling” workers as the economy changes, essentially training people to learn new skills. But those same companies often lay off tens of thousands of employees.
During conference panels, interviews and earnings report calls, most AI company executives play down concerns about job losses. They argue that while tech may replace some jobs, it will make existing workers more efficient at things like reading long documents or sorting through databases. Google and Microsoft are pushing AI into their software tools, such as Google Docs or Microsoft Outlook, enabling them to write emails or summarize meeting notes.