In previous weeks, you have read on onefourzero’s blogs that artificial intelligence is everywhere – homes, healthcare, services and so on. Indeed, the most frequent news stories about AI and robotics is how they are going to take all jobs away. However, a recent report by the World Economic Forum stated that AI would actually create many more jobs than it destroys, by the rather large margin of 58 million. But what will these new jobs be? onefourzero investigates…

Admittedly, emerging automated technology such as AI is predicted to eliminate 75 million jobs, starting by those with repetitive tasks that are easy to programme. While this may be a scary notion, we must look at the positive side. AI will also create an estimated 133 million new roles – some due to the growing trend of people living and working more flexibly, either part-time or as freelancers for example. We already have dozens of AI programs to help us with personal and professional tasks on a daily basis – and this is just the first generation. As technological capabilities expand, more functionalities will be explored, demanding more developers.

Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence will drive an increase in the number of jobs in all tech sectors, as more people are needed to develop the technology behind AI and robotics. Smart young professionals already know this and are increasingly choosing to study subjects related to the field.

Working in these new sectors has many benefits – including high demand and pay. Computer Science graduates, for example, are among the best paid, according to a recent article. The median PAYE salary in 2015/2016 of someone working in the UK who graduated in 2009/2010 with a degree in Computer Science from Imperial College is £60,000. Even more impressively, a class of 2014 computer science graduate from Imperial College could expect to earn over £39,000 by 2015/2016, only a year after their course ended.

As a reflection of this trend, online conversation around subjects such as these is increasing significantly. Research by onefourzero found that search for both AI-related jobs and AI courses on Google has increased drastically in the past couple of years, reaching its peak this summer. This demonstrates that new generations are ready to embrace AI as a way of life and have the education needed to work with it, rather than be put out of work by it.

With a workforce that understands the power of technology, and technology that can help businesses better understand customers, the future looks bright for investment in sectors likely to use robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence. In fact, even investment decisions are now being influenced by AI, and this is just the beginning. The most exciting part? It can be applied to any business – from pizza delivery to manufacturing.

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