Will AI eliminate the need for jobs?

It goes without saying, that Artificial Intelligence (AI) has taken the world by storm. How will the fourth industrial revolution change our work? This is a question we are all thinking about. In this article, Reed's Chairman and CEO James Reed considers how artificial intelligence will change the future of work.

1 mins read
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about 1 year ago

Author
James Reed - Chairman and CEO, Reed

At the recent Microsoft CEO Connections event, the CEO Satya Nadella compared the impact of new AI technology to the birth of personal computers and the internet, in terms of its potential global impact.

While writers, actors, and other artists have been fighting to protect their livelihoods from AI’s threat, Elon Musk imagines what I can only describe as a nightmarish vision of the future where no one works at all (although, as a recruiter, I’m predictably biased about the 'nightmarish' part).

The recent Reed/Bloomberg job market report sheds some light on this issue. While AI is a hot topic across politics and business, jobs in the sector have plummeted, suggesting that organizations have lost interest in hiring for new AI job roles.

That’s not to say that companies are ignoring AI altogether. From finance to e-commerce, businesses have been integrating this technology into existing roles, allowing them to offer new and improved products and services to their customers. Here at Reed, we’re using AI to help remedy a common problem for recruiters and managers – choosing appropriate interview questions for specific roles. With our AI-powered Interview Question Generator, a task that once took hours can now be completed with the click of a button.

Does this mean recruiters and their counterparts in other sectors will soon be out of a job and replaced by AI? Not necessarily. Although AI will most likely cause some jobs to disappear, it will also liberate people from bureaucracy, eliminate mundane tasks, and allow workers to focus on the parts of their jobs only humans can do well.

So, while it’s almost certain that AI is transforming the way we work and recruit, I’m of the belief that, for as long as there are people to help, problems to solve and personal connections to be made, there will still be jobs.

And, hopefully, there will still be recruiters.​

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Parenting Out Loud: improving support for working fathers
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  1. Article

Parenting Out Loud: improving support for working fathers

​​The idea of ‘Parenting Out Loud’ is that dads can be loud and proud, open and transparent, about their caring responsibilities at work.

The campaign launched in April, and you may have seen their takeover of the London Underground, with posters across Euston, Victoria and Waterloo stations.

‘Parenting Out Loud’ involves men:

  • Requesting flexible working for childcare reasons

  • Being ‘loud and proud’ about taking parental leave

  • Coming back from parental leave, blogging about it and telling colleagues how good it was and what they learnt

  • Using their out-of-office to talk about childcare responsibilities

  • Being honest with line managers when they need to work from home to look after their sick children

During the General Election campaign, now-Prime Minister Keir Starmer was criticised by the Conservative Party for asserting his intention to finish working on Fridays at 6pm, because it’s reserved for family time.

A while before that, Piers Morgan criticised Daniel Craig for wearing a papoose – questioning his masculinity.

Elliott Rae works with organisations, through keynotes, workshops, and consultancy, to help them support working dads.

According to Elliott, during the pandemic lockdowns, one positive thing that happened was men got to spend more time with their children than ever before, due to having to work from home. Many men found this to be a profoundly positive experience, improving their relationships with their children and making them happier and mentally healthier as a result.

Read the full interview with Elliott Rae, Author, Speaker, and Founder of ‘Parenting Out Loud’: