The Godfather of AI says these jobs could be replaced by AI

There’s a lot of outcry surrounding AI and how quickly it continues to develop and evolve. We’ve seen a number of claims that AI will replace our jobs or even destroy humanity. While some call these concerns fearmongering, others are less inclined to deny them. And now, the Godfather of AI himself says that AI could indeed replace some jobs.

Despite being known as the “Godfather of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton has been extremely outspoken about the danger that AI poses to humanity. While Hinton hasn’t outright said that AI will be the end of the world, he has warned in the past that AI could overtake humanity if we aren’t careful with it.

AI could replace some jobs

There’s no doubt that AI could replace some jobs, especially as businesses look for ways to cut costs. There are, of course, a lot of arguments about losing the human touch, especially in more creative fields. However, Hinton himself says there are likely some jobs that will be safe from AI, at least for a while.

While speaking on a podcast called The Diary of a CEO on YouTube, Hinton warned that “for mundane intellectual labor, AI is just going to replace everybody.” Of course, by this “mundane intellectual labor” he means things like white-collar jobs. The goal would be to replace ten people with one AI assistant that can do everything a human does, but faster.

We’re already seeing that in some industries, and while I won’t say the outcomes have been exactly great, companies continue to lean into trying to figure out ways to use AI to cut down on costs, which has led to job losses in recent months. For one example, Hinton noted that folks like paralegals could be at serious risk of losing their jobs to AI.

Additionally, he said he would be “terrified” to work in a call center, as those jobs are perfect for automation. In fact, we’ve seen more and more companies turn to automated systems for handling telephone jobs like paying bills, troubleshooting basic issues, etc.

AI won’t be able to do some jobs, at least for a while

However, Hinton said that there are some jobs AI won’t be able to replace any time soon. “I’d say it’s going to be a long time before AI is as good at physical manipulation,” he noted in the podcast. As such, he recommended that anyone worried about losing their job to AI start training in blue-collar jobs, like being a plumber or another trade.