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Key Takeaways
- Software development jobs require the most skills likely to be transformed by artificial intelligence (AI), according to a report from Indeed.
- Childcare roles, on the other hand, will be disrupted the least, the report found.
- Workers can better equip themselves for an AI-powered workforce by taking the time to invest in skills like prompt writing, one economist said.
Generative AI is coming for your job. Well, pieces of it, anyway.
Here’s how you can use that as an opportunity to equip yourselves with skills that will make you more attractive to employers, say experts.
Is AI Coming For Your Job?
Instead of asking how many jobs will be lost to AI, a new report from Indeed analyzed which job skills are most likely to be affected. The hiring platform evaluated nearly 2,900 skills that commonly appear in job listings and sorted them by how likely they are to be impacted by AI.
It found that 40% are liable to experience ‘hybrid’ transformation, in which AI carries out tasks under human oversight, while 19% could see ‘assisted’ transformation, in which humans use AI to augment their tasks. Perhaps surprisingly, just 1% of skills are likely to see ‘full’ transformation.
Generally, the skills most likely to be usurped by AI are those with little or no physical necessity and that current AI models are skilled at handling, Indeed found. Those skills most commonly appear in job listings for software development, accounting, and marketing, among others. The job with the least AI exposure is childcare, with less than a quarter of skills considered at-risk for hybrid or full transformation.
Why It Matters
Artificial intelligence is likely to change the way employees work in some way even if it doesn’t take away their jobs directly. By learning new skills that are related to AI or AI cannot replicate for now, workers can make themselves more attractive to employers.
“Rather than thinking in either-or terms—jobs lost vs. jobs saved—we must understand GenAI’s impact along a continuum of transformation,” the report reads. “The real question is not whether GenAI will change jobs—it absolutely is, and will. The question is what kinds of jobs will be most and least changed, why, and how.”
The shift is already well underway. AI use at work has close to doubled in two years, according to Gallup polling data. Even jobs that rely primarily on skills AI can’t currently replicate aren’t immune to change. Nurses, for instance, could see their workloads shift as AI takes over certain parts of their jobs.
“GenAI does not replace nurses, but has the potential to redistribute cognitive and administrative load, freeing time for patient-facing care,” the Indeed report reads. “As aging populations drive rising demand and nursing shortages persist, this time-saving effect becomes not just beneficial but necessary. From a labor market and employer standpoint, the objective among healthcare employers likely won’t be to reduce staff, but instead to deploy GenAI where it improves task allocation.”
What Workers and Job Seekers Can Do
Because generative AI is still relatively new, gaining the requisite skills is more accessible for people, according to Indeed economist Allison Shrivastava.
Tip
Employers aren’t necessarily looking for a degree in AI on your resume, but rather that job seekers have invested in skills like prompt writing and developed an understanding of how large language models (LLMs) work.
“I definitely think that it is worthwhile for everyone, whether you’re currently employed or not, to really invest in those kinds of skills, because you don’t want to be left behind,” Shrivastava said. “You want to adapt. You want to grow. It’s clear that there’s still room for humans to kind of drive the ship.”
Prompt-writing courses are an option, Shrivastava said, but so is something as simple as watching explainer videos on how LLMs operate.
Being able to think critically about AI and how it can be used is “just as important as getting the actual hard skills of writing prompts,” Shrivastava added.
Should Employees ‘Default to AI’? Not Necessarily
Opendoor (OPEN), the online real estate platform, is one company leaning into the transformation.
In a memo to workers posted on X last week, new CEO Kaz Nejatian said, “Starting today, the first line in everyone’s job expectation is simply this: Default to AI.”
“AI use is a skill, like anything else. The more you use it, the better you can get at it. I expect every one of us to become experts at this,” he said. “We will help you with resources and training, however it is ultimately up to you to master this skill.”
Nejatian added that employees’ performance reviews would include asking how often they “default to AI.”
However, Nvidia CEO Jenseng Huang, disagrees. He suggests that jobs that are likely to come out on top as the race for AI hots up aren’t necessarily in the tech sector, including electricians, plumbers, and carpenters.
The Bottom Line
AI use in the workplace has surged over the past few years, but the type of work makes a huge difference in the level of AI impact. Software developers use skills that generative AI is much better able to replicate than nurses do, for instance. Still, AI will continue to change workplaces, and employees can do themselves a service by investing in AI skills like prompt writing, an Indeed economist said.
