Sir, – We are repeatedly told that artificial intelligence will “free” workers from boring tasks. That may be true for some. But for many, it will simply remove the worker from the task altogether and, in many cases, already has.
The problem is not that technology is advancing. It needs to. The problem is the speed at which AI is being absorbed into workplaces before we even learn who benefits, who loses and what kind of working life will be thrusted on us.
Entry-level jobs, creative roles, customer service, journalism, administration and even parts of healthcare and law are already being reshaped by systems that can produce, sort, summarise and imitate at scale. For young people trying to get a first step on the ladder, that should worry us.
Also, AI is not only entering our jobs but our habits, how we write, think, apply for work, consume news and even speak to one another.
RM Block
If we allow efficiency to become the only measure of progress, we may find that what has been automated away is not merely work, but human judgment.
“We don’t know ourselves” will soon be more than just a saying.
– Yours, etc,
DARREN CONDRON,
Dublin 6
