How will AI impact the job market? Will it be an opportunity or a threat?

1. Will artificial intelligence soon eliminate all meaningful jobs?
One of the great fears of today's job market is about AI and its growing possibilities. Positioning
themselves in most of the major global industries, many wonders if this recent technology is a source
of opportunities or threats. Because little by little, it is legitimate to wonder if AI will replace humans
in every aspect of their professional life.
To answer this question, it is essential to ask yourself two questions:
• What is meaningful work from a human point of view?
• Is AI likely to replace him in these tasks?
The easiest solution to answer the first question is to link “meaningful” work to the notion of added
value, which is the value created by a company. It is therefore linked to a work of production of value
through products and services.
A second interesting approach is that of "meaningful" work linked to human exchange. We could thus
consider that any human-to-human exchange can bring added value that is not only based on the
production of products and services but more linked to our human condition.
Then comes the second question: is AI likely to replace us?
On the production of current products and services, the answer is clearly yes. This is particularly
evident on manufactured goods. Robots have been present in factories for several years. They remain
confined to tasks that do not require major agility for the moment. But what we call agile robots,
coupled with AI, are likely to take our place on increasingly complex tasks. So, in February 2019, an
Amazon truck drove the I10 while being driven by AI. However, driving remains a complex task. There
is therefore a good chance that many professions will disappear.
But as David Autor demonstrated (during his talk at TED in September 2016, two phenomena will
stabilize the panel of available jobs, despite AI.
First, AI will leverage production capacity by offering a depreciable investment rather than a payroll.
As a result, production points can multiply, creating more jobs. This is the ATM paradox that David
Autor uses in his demonstration.

2. Moreover, while some types of jobs will be irreparably destroyed by AI, others will be created: AI
ethicist, robot educator, neuromanagers, SrumMaster. We could therefore say that the sum of jobs
will not be destroyed but rather… moved.
It is also necessary to take into account a decisive fact which makes, for the moment, the replacement
of humans by AI in all their professional tasks unrealistic: AI is specialized. Not the man. So, you can be
beaten down by an AI at the game of Go. That's what AlphaGo (developed by Google DeepMind) did
in March 2016 against South Korean Lee Sedol. But you won't find an AI that will beat you at the game
of Go, cook better than you, and drive your kids to school. It is this human adaptability that makes this
"great replacement" impossible, at least for the time being. AI is the death knell for unique expertise
rather than human beings. It can therefore position itself as a valuable and determining aid (eg:
augmented avocados), but no more.
As for jobs related to human exchange, it does not seem that AI is the solution if we believe the theory
"Uncanny Valley" of the Japanese roboticist Mori Masahiro and published in 1970. According to this
theory, more a being artificial is similar to a human being, the more monstrous its imperfections appear
to us. This notion is not without giving rise to certain criticisms that should be taken into account. The
main one is that it is more about robots than AI. An equally valid second is that we do not yet know
how to produce machines so close to humans. This is all true. The fact remains that an AI is far from
being able to produce 2 things that remain our prerogative: empathy and creativity. Empathy because
the machine does not feel emotions. Creativity because the machine cannot go outside the framework
of its program.
Therefore, and in conclusion, can AI replace very high added value jobs? The answer is rather negative
or, in any case, if it does, it will remain at the margin. It's a safe bet that it will position itself more on
low-added tasks, freeing up human energy to conquer new horizons. It will be, and already is, the
creator of new types of functions in companies. It will undoubtedly support people in their personal
and professional life in proportions that are still poorly defined. But it is still far from replacing men in
the labour market and will generate at least as many jobs as it destroys.