Will artificial intelligence create jobs or take them away? Here are the 11 top industries investing in AI

Artificial intelligence (AI), the ability of a digital computer or computer-controlled robot to perform tasks commonly associated with intelligent beings.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica

When you think about artificial intelligence (AI), what comes to mind? Is it a distant future filled with intelligent robots working alongside or replacing human beings? Or a not-so-distant future packed with smart technologies created by the likes of Google and Tesla?

In many ways, both of these visions are correct. Artificial intelligence is already seeping into our lives and transforming the way we live and work. Voice assistants such as Siri and Alexa, self-driving cars like Tesla, and streaming services such as Netflix are all examples of AI. And while robots and machines are not about to take over the world, many of the jobs we know today (10-30% according to the British Academy) are “highly automatable”, meaning they could be easily be done by machines.

So, what does AI mean for the job market?

Yes, the big question is: what jobs will exist in the future? Nobody can tell for certain, but by looking at current recruitment trends and where money is being invested, it’s possible to create a picture of what future jobs might – might – look like.

Harnessing the power of AI – the demand for future skills is a new report published by recruitment specialists Robert Walters and VacancySoft. They have looked at hiring trends and the industries investing in AI, and presented their ideas of where the future job market is heading in their report.

Which industries are investing in AI?

According to Robert Walters and VacancySoft, these are the top industries investing in AI:

1) Agriculture – using robots to perform essential agricultural tasks such as harvesting crops, or machine learning to track and predict environmental impacts on crop yields.
2) Business Support – using automated marketing strategies or AI-assisted supply chain management.
3) Customer Experience – using chatbots and AI-assisted agents to handle customers’ questions, or visual engagement, voice and text sentiment technologies to assess facial expressions and respond to customers accordingly.
4) Energy – using smart grids to allocate energy resources where they are needed most, or smart meters to monitor energy supply and demand in homes and offices.
5) Healthcare – using AI to detect diseases such as cancer or robots to help elderly or sick people remain independent for longer.
6) Intellectual Property – using AI to help sift through and handle patents, trademarks and copyright.
7) IT Service Management – using AI to create knowledge solutions that provide immediate answers to computer-related problems.
8) Manufacturing – using AI to produce new products such as self-driving cars or change the way goods are transported around the world.
9) Technical Support – using AI to find quick solutions to technical problems with electronic devices.
10) Retail – using fraud detection algorithms to protect consumers’ digital transactions or drones to deliver goods.
11) Software Development – using AI to help developers and testers create better software that is more responsive to users.

Does the shift to AI mean people will lose their jobs?

A 2018 report published by the World Economic Forum claims that between now and 2022, 75 million jobs will be “displaced”. But 133 million new jobs will be created thanks to the evolution of machines and algorithms.

Robert Walters and VacancySoft claim the three areas that will drive hiring in 2020 are:

1) 5G
2) Edge Computing
3) Digital Twin

And the five top professional services roles that have seen a boom in the last three to four years are:

1) Data Analyst
2) Data Manager
3) Data Scientist
4) Information Security Manager
5) Data Engineer

How should you prepare for the future?

Of course, there is no real way of knowing what the future job market will look like. While it is a very good idea to keep an eye on industry trends and the latest developments in your chosen career – by reading Futurum Careers articles , for example – it’s not a good idea to force yourself to study certain subjects or set a path for a certain job just because you think you will be in high demand. Most – if not all – of the scientists featured in Futurum fell into their field because they have a passion for it. And their advice to you is to do the very things that interest you most.

Read more about this:

World Economic Forum: The Future of Jobs Report 2018

Robert Walters: Career Advice