Blog Post: AI in the Workforce and it's Potential Effects


I found an interesting article online the other day regarding the negative effects that Artificial Intelligence (AI) may have on the workforce in the future. As Kirkwood explains, “AI could potentially disrupt every industry. All companies could require AI-related occupations by 2030, and it may become highly competitive to retain talent…” This quote in particular made me reflect upon theoretical concepts that we have analyzed throughout the course – particularly, relating to Boltanski and Chiapello’s concept of the “projective city.” This article seems to take a distinct approach to the effects that advancements in technology will pose for the greater workforce. In the concept of the ‘projective city,’ workers become more flexible to shifting between different projects and teams in order to curate a strong networked portfolio. However, Kirkwood notes that a ‘projective city’ style workforce in which technologies infiltrate and take over multiple industries, could create a difficulty for companies to retain the best talents.

Personally, I found this article interesting because it takes a different approach to the advancement of technology in society. While Boltanski and Chiapello discuss how a ‘projective city’ workforce could benefit individual workers to curate a greater portfolio of networked connections and talents, Kirkwood outlines the repercussions this could impose on actual companies. For example, Kirkwood states how AI – particularly, virtual and augmented reality, may cause an increased need for developers to maintain increasing technology. As such, the author makes note of the importance in imagining possible futures so that we as a society can better handle and maintain a workforce without negatively impacting companies and workers in the process. I would like to hear what you all think of this article and if you agree with Kirkwood’s fear of how increasingly advanced technologies may hinder the workforce? Do you think we should only care for ourselves or is it in our best interest to think about how technology, specifically AI, may hinder a company’s structure? Do you believe that technologies such as AI will negatively impact the workforce or do you believe that there are positive aspects to implementing different technologies into the job market? 

Article: https://betakit.com/ai-could-disrupt-workforce-in-every-sector-by-2030-brookfield-report-finds/?utm_source=A%7CI%3A+The+AI+Times&utm_campaign=2e42671e12-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_AI_4_14_2019&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9ad0da4dbb-2e42671e12-206669809

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