“There are many studies that say that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creating more jobs than it destroys.”
In fact, new careers are being born, Elena Ibáñez, CEO of Singularity Experts, a startup that provides employment advice, tells.
And, at the same time, this technology “is evolving traditional professions in absolutely all sectors.”
The question – says the expert – is not where job opportunities point, but rather what we have to train in within our professions to capture the opportunities that AI is generating.
“What we are seeing in the market, especially speaking with clients from both the technology sector and more traditional industries, is not that AI is coming to destroy jobs,” Francisco Scaserra, Technology leader in Argentina at the company,
“We probably continue to think about humans for tasks that are too basic . I think the big challenge is to make the positions that already exist evolve to have a different added value and not remain transactional. AI can take care of it.”
Believing that AI is only a matter of Silicon Valley and big technology is not seeing the range in all its breadth.
Last year, for example, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations of the United Nations was looking for an expert in AI and Machine Learning (machine learning). And in fact, an AI and Robotics Center operates at the UN Interregional Institute for Crime and Justice Research .
“Unstoppable”
Despite the negative perspective with which many people view AI, not only because of its effect on the labor market, but because of the power they fear it can develop, not everyone sees the bleak outlook.
While the World Economic Forum indicated, in a 2020 report, that the workforce was becoming automated “faster than expected, displacing 85 million jobs” by 2025, it noted that “the robotic revolution will create 97 million of new jobs ”.
In April, Gilbert F. Houngbo, director general of the International Labor Organization (ILO) was blunt: “Artificial intelligence is unstoppable. We have to accept that it will advance more and more.”
“But generally speaking, technological and digital advances tend to create more jobs than they are destroyed. We know that ,” the official told the EFE agency.
“ It is not the end of work ,” Janine Berg, an economist at the ILO, tells BBC Mundo. “It’s about incorporating this technology to make us more efficient, to help us do our jobs.”
“There are occupations that are going to be created, but right now we cannot foresee what they will consist of.”
The expert acknowledges that “there are many people who are training AI systems, in certain companies, whose working conditions are not so good.”
That’s one of the many challenges facing that sector: the hundreds of thousands of workers, many low-income and in poor countries, without whom various AI systems wouldn’t exist .
Despite its many controversies, AI is already integrated into our lives.
“The important thing is to feel comfortable with technology and that does not mean that you have to study programming, but to be aware that in the job market employers will be looking for people who use AI as a tool for their work , to be more productive.”
And, according to Berg, it is not necessary to do expensive specializations abroad; in Latin America there are study centers and training initiatives in line with market demands.
“The key is being willing to learn and ask questions.”
We tell you about some jobs that are being created in the field of AI:
1. Prompt Engineer
Imagine I ask you for something, but I don’t give you enough information or context for what I need. Surely you will try to help me, but your answer may not be as accurate as if you had more information.
Let’s take that example to the various generative AI models that have become increasingly more efficient when it comes to understanding natural language, the one that you and I use to communicate: the prompt engineer is the person who designs prompts , requests or premises, and then submit them to an AI tool.
The key for the tool, when asked by a user, to give the best result depends to a large extent on the prompt engineer having developed really effective instructions (in text form), in which precision and context are essential. .
In March, the World Economic Forum listed it in “3 New and Emerging Jobs,” while Business Insider rates prompt engineering as one of the hottest jobs in generative AI. The same adjective is used by Forbes, “ the hot new job ”, and by Arizona State University when presenting one of their courses: “ one of the hottest new jobs ”.
In April, Time magazine noted that this type of work did not require “a degree in computer engineering, or even advanced programming skills.”
And although some sources agree that it is not essential to have technological training and highlight that the key to this position is having skills such as critical thinking, data analysis and creativity, several job offers seen by BBC Mundo also ask for the Knowledge of programming languages such as Python and TensorFlow, as well as experience with machine learning models.
But not all experts view prompt engineering with unbridled enthusiasm. For many, it is an occupation that may become short-lived given the rapid advancement of AI.
“I have a strong suspicion that ‘prompt engineering’ is not going to be a big business in the long term… it is not the job of the future ,” wrote Ethan Mollick, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, in X (formerly Twitter).
Others see it more as a skill to be more competitive, as Microsoft Excel once was, for example.
“It is said that if you are good at prompt engineering, you could avoid being replaced by AI, and you could even aim for a high salary. Although it remains to be seen whether that will continue to be the case,” wrote Richard Fisher, author and editor of BBC Future.
2. AI Researcher
His role is to identify ways to use AI to overcome problems and limitations that organizations have.
It specializes in “understanding large data sets and turning that learning into ideas and plans to develop new AI technologies that data scientists will bring to life,” notes the University of Leeds, in the article What are the Top 5 Jobs in AI ? (What are the top 5 jobs in AI?)
An AI researcher must have what are known as soft skills, those that are related to emotional intelligence, critical thinking , resilience, adaptability, among others.
They are key skills, the academic institution says, because your “role will involve frequent brainstorming to find new methods and approaches.”
Technically, “mathematical skills to use statistics and predict how AI programs will execute, and the ability to analyze data with experience in tools such as RapidMiner or SketchEngine” will also be important.
For Ibáñez, this professional must be an expert in three fields: software engineering, statistics and business.
“In other words, it is a very complete profile that applies all its technical knowledge to the improvement of a business.”
3. Natural Language Processing Expert
He is the humanist expert who masters linguistic models and supports the software development team with language processing, says the specialist.
Usually, a degree in philology, linguistics or translation and interpretation is required.
And, although it does not require in-depth technological knowledge, a specialization in natural language processing or a master’s degree in computational linguistics, it enriches the candidate’s profile.
Computational linguistics, which is an interdisciplinary field that has been with us for decades, seeks to translate the logic of written and spoken language to machines so that later, through model training, they can execute tasks.
This is how behind chatbots there are not only data scientists and software developers, but also members of other humanistic disciplines, such as philosophy and psychology.
4. Expert in robotic process automation or RPA ( Robotic Process Automation )
It is about managing software systems that automate repetitive and manual tasks in a company.
According to Ibáñez, to train in this, there are several degrees such as programming and especially specializations related to RPA.
Companies like Microsoft associate the adoption of RPA by organizations with increases in productivity.
“RPA benefits your business by automating various activities, including data transfer, updating customer profiles, data entry, inventory management, and other more complex tasks,” it states on its website.
5. Algorithm Auditor
Ibáñez explains that this worker reviews system or application algorithms to ensure that they are free of biases that discriminate against people based on gender, race, age.
You can have both a technical training (software developer, computer scientist) and a more humanistic preparation that delves into ethics.
In fact, algorithm auditors must have a practical understanding of how algorithms can affect people.
Hence, the importance of working closely with data scientists to regularly review the algorithms, make sure that ” they are transparent, fair and explainable ” and that once published they maintain impartiality, he points out on his Singularity Experts page.
“In addition, it will provide recommendations to developers on how to make the model more ethical and understandable for the population.”
6. Law and ethics specialist with knowledge of AI
“Regardless of where you are in the AI value chain, whether you produce the technology, use it or make content to train it, it is important that you have AI-savvy lawyers and ethicists by your side,” he told her. says to BBC Mundo Mathilde Pavis, associate professor at the Law School of the University of Reading, in England.
“That will allow you to make sure that you are not doing something that, later, has to be eliminated .”
As a specialist in intellectual property law, ethics and new technologies, Pavis also advises governments, organizations and businesses on the impact of AI on the handling of sensitive data.
He states that some of the main questions that AI generates are: are intellectual property rights violated when it is trained with information that is on the Internet or on social networks? Does doing so violate the rights to privacy ?
“Obviously there is a potential risk that the technology you develop will be misused by others, even if that was never your intention,” warns the professor. That it be used, for example, to spread false information, commit fraud, destabilize elections.
For this reason, it is essential that control mechanisms be implemented from the beginning regarding the legal, social and ethical impact of the AI technology that is created or used.
And that is one of the fields of law that AI is opening up.
Lawyers are needed who can understand and connect two worlds:
- That of commercial law, which includes intellectual property
- That of criminal law and cybersecurity
They are worlds that do not usually communicate with each other. But, “AI swings on that spectrum: it’s a product with great commercial potential and, at the same time, potential for misuse .”
A lawyer who wants to venture into the field of AI must, for example, advise a company that wants to bring “a great product, an AI innovation, to the market”, with the commercial legal framework and with the regulatory framework in Internet.
Pavis specializes in the use of AI in the creative industries. More specifically in content generated with AI: voices and faces, “digital cloning of human beings.”
He advises startups that “want to make sure” that the cloning technology they are developing does not break the law.
“I also work with artists who want to participate in the ‘AI revolution,’ but want to be sure that the assets they bring to the table—the recordings of their voices, their performances—are not being misused or in some way , they become their own competition in the market”.
“And I also work with companies and the media that want to commission products that involve AI, but want to make sure that everything is done properly and ethically,” he concludes.
“In 2025, analytical thinking, creativity and flexibility are among the top skills needed; with data and artificial intelligence, content creation and cloud computing being the main emerging professions”.
World Economic Forum, 2020