GabyAt September’s Cosmos Science City event, participants discussed the jobs of the future amid rapid technological change. Psychologist Ruchi Sinha says the transformational impact of AI will force us to rethink what makes people valuable as workers.
The competitor isn’t AI — it’s people who use it
Sinha says people won’t leave the workforce; they’ll move to a new level of work. Artificial intelligence will push them into interdisciplinary roles that connect different fields of knowledge, rather than into narrow, specialized information jobs.
Ms. Sinha believes education for the jobs of the future will make people more versatile across fields instead of training them for just one. She expects that AI will not completely replace humans in the workplace. People can adapt to technological change, as they did with the internet and social media.
Sinha says technology itself won’t steal jobs—people who learn to use these innovations will take roles from those who are less adaptable to new developments.
Focus on advantages, not shortcomings
Ms. Sinha’s view was echoed by other forum participants, including Dr. Charlie Hargroves, a senior lecturer at the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Commercialization, and Innovation at the University of Adelaide Business School, who pointed to the productivity gains from large language models like ChatGPT. He said 99% of businesses do not use AI, but the 1% that do gain a competitive advantage—and it’s not very difficult to get started.
When Alphabet (the parent company of Google) and Meta (the companies behind social platforms like Facebook and Instagram) disrupted traditional advertising in the 2010s, companies that shifted to digital marketing took advantage of the then-unregulated ability to use vast amounts of user data to target audiences far more precisely than billboards or TV ads. Today, “digital marketing” is no longer considered a separate field, and marketers have skills in both traditional and digital channels.
The digital sphere created new platforms for business. But with AI—especially large language models that imitate human intelligence—Sinha sees a deeper challenge to what has been considered core human value at work: task automation, information processing, and creativity.
Creating the ideal connection between people and technology
Sinha says the AI era is fundamentally different from past technologies. Previous technologies helped people and disrupted economies and structures, but they did not call the meaning of human existence into question.
As Cosmosmagazine noted, changes in the nature of work in the age of artificial intelligence will not happen overnight. Sinha says those who adapt with a solid understanding of work and AI will gain an advantage. She also sees an important role for companies in creating constructive, satisfying work for people.
Sinha says organizations can create the jobs of the future by establishing roles that give people meaningful work, involve them in shaping culture, and foster cohesion within teams. The psychologist also believes companies should invest in upskilling and developing employees, which will boost productivity over time. That approach can create an ideal connection between people and technology, where technology supports people rather than hinders them.
