AI Won't Replace You: Someone Using AI Will.

We’re pretty sure that not a day goes by without you coming across worrying quotes like ‘AI is going to replace you’ or ‘AI will take over human jobs’. 

Understandably, the thought of AI taking over your job can be stress-inducing. It also doesn’t help that the people coming up with these statements seem pretty confident in their assessments.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a content writer, graphic designer, IT manager, or even a business. AI currently feels like a threat to many professions and businesses. 

But is it really true? Will AI replace you?

There’s no definite answer to this question, but we also have a quote we’re pretty confident about.

“AI won’t replace you; someone using AI will.”

In short, early adopters of AI will replace those who delay with technology adoption. Here’s another truth to ponder over; early AI adapters will increase their productivity, cut costs, and claim a bigger market share, hence a more competitive advantage. 

Today, we examine what AI is and how you can remain relevant in your sector despite the worrying but impressive AI developments. 

But before all that…

What is AI?

If you mention AI in a gathering, most people would think of ChatGPT. And why not? This AI chatbot has been the talk of the town since its introduction in November 2022. It’s currently the most downloaded app, with over 13 million daily visitors.

However, AI is more than ChatGPT. 

AI is any technology that mimics a human's decision-making and problem-solving capabilities. If AI is an ocean, chatbots such as ChatGPT are only a drop in the ocean. 

AI is present in everyday Google searches, self-driving cars, the Netflix recommendation system, ‘hey Alexa’s’, and most machinery you find in business areas. 

This technology has also been present for a long time— as early as the 50s, but it’s only now that it has reached a stage of great impact and recognition. 

Types of AI 

Generally, AI can be classified into four types: reactive, limited memory, theory of mind, and self-aware AI.

Reactive AI is the simplest form of AI. Primarily, this type predicts the output based on the input it’s fed. Reactive AI models produce the exact same results every time. Unfortunately, reactive AI can not perform beyond the task it was initially created for. Machines operating based on this AI can't learn from past experiences or improve their decision-making based on data.

Examples include the Netflix recommendation system and IBM’s Deep Blue— the supercomputer that beat Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1997. 

Reactive AI paved the way for advancement, and researchers developed Limited Memory AI. This AI relies on historical observations and pre-programmed large volumes of data training to make predictions. 

Common examples of Limited Memory AI include self-driving cars and chatbots. In fact, most AI applications we know of today are based on Limited Memory AI. 

The third type of AI is known as Theory of Mind. AI developments are currently at this stage. This AI type is more sophisticated and human-like, but it has yet to reach the level of human intelligence. This AI type can make decisions and remember emotions before providing answers or predictions. 

Self Aware is the last type of AI. This AI will have the capability to understand self and other people’s emotions. However, we are yet to develop such AI technology, but with the current level of advancements, we’ll be here soon. 

The popular generative AIs, GPT-3 and now GPT-4, are more of a combination between Limited Memory and Theory of Mind AI types. 

Will GPT-3 Replace Your Job?

Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3) is a language prediction model released in 2020. The developers fed this AI over 175 billion parameters making it the largest language model in the world. GPT-3 has led to other super cool applications, such as ChatGPT, which can write complete novels, blog posts, and code. 

ChatGPT’s release in November 2022 took the tech space by storm, and here’s where the concerns about AI replacing jobs began to take root and spread like a forest fire. 

The most mentioned replaceable professionals included writers, developers, analysts, paralegals, support agents, and other white-collar employees. 

The thought of being replaced by AI can cause lots of stress and anxiety. But before you progress to a full-blown panic attack, here’s the thing. 

AI will not replace you— at least not right now. 

What does ChatGpt have to say about AI replacing you?

While the field of AI has seen some impressive progress, we’re yet to get to a level where AI is self-aware. If we get to that stage, then your fears of replacement will be valid. 

The current AI technology has yet to replace human creativity and intelligence. For example, even though AI can create interesting blog posts, it can not match a human writer's creativity, empathy, and experience. 

In addition, AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on. Unfortunately, this data can be biased, so the results will also be biased. More importantly, current AI models are still not 100% factual and require a lot of human intervention. 

Overall, AI requires human oversight and maintenance to produce tangible, human-like results. 

That said, you’re still in competition with people and businesses using AI. 

Fortunately, this is something you can prevent by being an early adapter. Below, we share how you can remain relevant even as AI’s capabilities and adoption advance. 

How Not to Get Replaced by People Using AI

The consequences of AI adoption or non-adoption are very much like Charles Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest. 

Adapters enjoy the benefits, such as productivity and fewer task errors. Slow and non-adapters leave the benefits on the table and possibly lose out on their jobs. 

The current advancement has shown that AI is not a passing trend. It’s here to stay, and its importance in business will only grow. 

The World Economic Forum predicts AI machines will replace 85 million jobs by 2025. However, AI will also lead to the creation of 97 million jobs. 

From this data, it’s evident that there are a lot of opportunities introduced by AI despite the looming threats. 

In addition, the generative AI market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 34.3% to $110 billion by the end of 2023. The market is ripe, and the pie is large enough— but this is dependent on whether you’ll take action to use AI for work optimization. 

Here are 3 vital steps you need to take to not get replaced by AI users. 

1. Reframe your thoughts on AI

Don’t think that you’re competing with AI. Instead, look at AI as a tool that can augment and improve your skills and output. For example, look at areas where AI can help optimize your jobs. If you’re a marketer, AI can help with research, developing customer surveys, and creating outlines for paid ads. 

On the other hand, if you’re in SEO, AI can help automate tedious tasks such as keyword research, competitor analysis, writing meta descriptions, etc. 

Tip: Check out this guide to learn how to use ChatGPT for content production. 

2. Identify the areas of disruption

AI can and will bring disruption to your industry. For example, if you’re a content agency, some of your clients have migrated to AI-generated content for their business websites. 

So yes, disruptions are part of technology development. Instead of worrying about this, try to identify your most vulnerable areas. 

Which skills are likely to be impacted by AI?  Once you identify these areas, start looking for upskilling opportunities. 

In the content agency example, you can consider providing clients with AI prompt writing and optimization services. 

We’re already seeing freelance job platforms such as Upwork add Generative AI as a specialty on its platform marketplace.

Tip: Find out how Generative AI will change SEO. 

3. Master relevant AI tools

Which tools and AI technologies are taking your industry by storm? Once you have an answer to this, begin to master these tools. Learn about their capabilities and how to apply them to improve and complete your tasks faster. 

Here are some top AI tools to consider learning.

Chat GPT

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot you can use to generate content, debug code, write novels, and compose music. It can also be used as a chatbot to provide customer support to clients in an organization. Mastering ChatGPT is wise regardless of your profession since this chatbot has numerous uses across different industries. 

DALL-E 2 

DALL-E 2 is an AI system that creates realistic art and images based on prompts made in natural language.  This is a great tool to learn if you work in content production, illustration, photography, and graphic design. 

Midjourney 

Midjourney is yet another AI system that creates imagery based on descriptions or prompts. Like DALL-E 2, Midjourney will be useful for people in the graphic design space. 

Final Thoughts

AI should augment your work rather than replace you. By taking advantage of its capabilities, you can remain relevant in your industry and achieve more productivity. 

That said, AI can also feel like an ever-changing maze. So, if you feel stuck, especially on using AI to optimize content production, reach out to Zoey Writers. 

Our team would love to help you optimize and scale content marketing with AI.  

Photo by Ilgmyzin on Unsplash. Thank you, Ilgmyzin!