The year, 2023 was the breakthrough year of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Although AI was created for positive effects in society to make life easier for humans by providing human-like interactions with software, we are unfortunately already seeing negative impacts make its way to the year 2024.
From teachers having to navigate through students’ increasing use of Chat GPT and scammers impersonating the voices of families in distress, we are already seeing how harmful AI can be.
According to the Goldman Sachs report from Business Insider, an estimated 300 million jobs could be at risk by the year 2030. We are already seeing many industries taking a hit just a couple of months after AI took the world by storm.
At Montclair State University, journalism is one of the most sought-after majors among students due to its versatility and transferability. However, journalists have been largely impacted by companies’ increasing use of AI.
Before AI went mainstream, journalists were among the most respected in the workplace due to them providing informed and reliable information to society. But because companies are using automated writing through AI programs, we are starting to see thousands of journalists get fired or laid off.
Sports Illustrated, which is known for being the most iconic sports journalism magazine in the world, laid off its entire staff just two weeks ago. Just from last month alone, journalists have seen an overwhelming amount of layoffs from respected news organizations such as LA Times, Pitchfork, National Geographic, TIME, and Business Insider. The Messenger and the Wall Street Journal have laid off hundreds of workers just this week.
This is all just a couple of months before the presidential election which is extremely alarming.
To make matters worse, these layoffs come at a time when our economy is at its lowest, and more than 50% of Americans cannot afford rent.
Another industry that the surge of AI has greatly impacted has been engineering.
Like journalism, engineering is a sought-after major, not just at Montclair State, but worldwide. Whether it be software engineering or computer engineering due to the flexibility in the field or the high-paying income.
Tech Companies are now heavily investing in AI due to AI-driven tools being faster, more efficient and error-free.
The software powered by AI’s goal is to enhance users’ experiences with intelligent chat boxes, hence why we are now seeing hundreds of tech companies lay off hundreds of their employees.
Just last month, Google cut hundreds of engineering jobs that worked on core engineering to lower expenses as they focus on investing in AI this year. A few other notable names that have made drastic changes due to investing in AI are Microsoft which laid off 1,900 jobs and Salesforce which just laid off over 700 workers.
Imagine spending thousands of dollars in college studying in your respective major and getting to the real world only to find out you are getting replaced by a computer. That has been the harsh reality for thousands of Americans who are currently unemployed due to the rise of AI.
Unfortunately, as time passes many industries will continue to be affected the longer companies and executives continue to invest in AI.
On the bright side, there is still hope for us college students who have not made it to the official job market yet. Even with all of the benefits of AI, some jobs will just be too difficult for AI to replace because of the human aspect.
Some majors you might want to consider are the healthcare department, psychology, social workers, teaching and education. You might even want to consider starting your own business and being your own boss because you cannot fire yourself.
Time will only tell how far AI will impact society, so it is better to be prepared.
