Yes, Like a Calculator

Calculators didn’t wipe out jobs. Neither did computers.

At least not in the toggle-switch way that people talk about AI.

But they did affect jobs and how people do their jobs. We used to employ rooms full of people to hand-calculate complex equations. We also used to employ rooms full of people to first typeset and later type handwritten documentation for distribution.

We don’t employ rooms full of those people anymore because the calculator and the computer have moved those functions to the creators of the information. They enable the creators. But we still do employ administrative assistants, accountants, and engineers. Their jobs have changed a bit.

AI is doing and will continue to do the same thing. It may have a broader scale and touch more professions, but it’s fundamentally similar.

Only time will tell what the true effect will be.

However, I think we will still need junior workers. We will still need mid-level workers. We will still need senior workers. And managers and executives as well. Responsibilities will probably move around with capabilities.

But yes, AI is like the calculator.