The landscape of several industries is set for significant transformation, as an executive from OpenAI identifies three jobs poised for automation in the coming years. Olivier Godement, head of business products at OpenAI, discussed the potential impact of artificial intelligence on roles within life sciences, customer service, and computer engineering during an episode of the “Unsupervised Learning” podcast.
According to Godement, the life sciences sector, particularly pharmaceutical companies such as Amgen, stands to benefit greatly from automation. He noted that the process of designing new drugs involves both research and administrative tasks, the latter of which can consume considerable time and resources. “The time it takes from once you lock the recipe of a drug to having that drug on the market is months, sometimes years,” Godement explained. He emphasized that AI models demonstrate effectiveness in aggregating and analyzing large volumes of structured and unstructured data, which is crucial for expediting drug development.
While the complete automation of every white-collar job is not yet feasible, Godement highlighted emerging use cases in fields like coding and customer service. He remarked, “The automation is probably not yet at the level of automating completely the job of a software engineer, but I think we have a line of sight essentially to get there.” This reflects the ongoing debate within the tech industry regarding the future of software engineering, especially as AI-assisted coding becomes more integrated into workflows.
The impact of automation on the job market has been pronounced. A study by Indeed in October revealed that software engineers, quality assurance engineers, product managers, and project managers were among the most affected roles during recent layoffs and organizational changes. This trend raises concerns for professionals in these fields as AI tools continue to evolve.
Godement also pointed to the potential for automation in customer-oriented roles. He has collaborated with T-Mobile, a major telecom company in the United States, to enhance customer experiences through AI-driven solutions. “We’re starting to achieve fairly good results in terms of quality at a meaningful scale,” he stated. He anticipates that the next one to two years will bring surprising advancements in the number of tasks that AI can reliably automate.
The discussion around job automation is not limited to Godement. Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the “Godfather of AI,” expressed similar sentiments in a podcast earlier this year. He predicted that technology will eventually surpass human capabilities across various tasks, although he noted that some professions, particularly those requiring physical manipulation, are safer for the time being. “A good bet would be to be a plumber,” he advised, while cautioning that “for mundane intellectual labor, AI is just going to replace everybody.” Hinton specifically mentioned paralegals as being at risk and expressed concern for those employed in call centers.
As AI technology advances, the conversation surrounding job automation continues to evolve. With leaders in AI identifying roles vulnerable to automation, workers across various sectors may need to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape.
