By Aimee McElreath, Staff Writer
For years, many have wondered whether robots and automation will end up affecting job displacement and resulting in less jobs for humans. With the advancement and increasing prevalence of artificial intelligence, however, this question is more relevant than ever before.
AI software like Copilot and Claude has been changing how the workplace functions. Some are excited about what this new technological integration brings, while others are concerned about the effect AI will have on the job market.
Abhinav Kamtam, who earned his master’s degree in computer science at Saint Leo and is now the Senior Coordinator of Saint Leo’s Student Accessibility and Career Services, sees how AI is changing the workforce for both better and worse.
Kamtam highlighted how automatic performance of tasks helps teams in the workplace to move forward and focus on the most important concerns and believes it will continue doing this in the next five years.
“You can say that it’s [AI] improving workplace efficiency by automating a lot of routine tasks, data entry, or basic analysis scheduling,” Kamtam said.
Users can increase workplace productivity with AI. Kamtam also emphasized how the simplicity of using AI software maximizes efficiency.
“It could be as simple as using Copilot for your emails,” Kamtam stated.
Regarding the harm of AI being implemented in the workforce, Kamtam discussed how prioritizing AI in jobs contributes to job displacement, like how automated customer support services minimize human staff.
Kamtam also shared a recent concern about how AI is beginning to track work activity in some workplaces. This causes uncertainty regarding workers’ rights to privacy and stress due to a sense of digital micromanagement.
“To certain people, it might feel like you’re being micromanaged by a computer, which would bother me,” Kamtam added.
Despite these concerns, however, Kamtam is against the stigma that using AI tools is bad, especially in the workforce.
“It needs to go because everyone’s using AI. And why should we not be utilizing the sources we have?” Kamtam asked.
Kamtam added that whether use of AI in the workplace is appropriate comes down to whether it is ethical. As a computer science degree holder, Kamtam addressed the concern computer science majors have regarding AI job displacement in their field.
“Is [AI] going to be heavily used? Yes, but at the same time, as a computer science student, your job would more so be maintaining or fine tuning those programs,” Kamtam said.
“Or if there are new processes, integrating those new processes into the program,” Kamtam added.
So, will AI take future jobs? AI may likely not have a great impact on the labor market, but it does affect the need for some roles. Katam also mentioned that new positions have risen as a result, including AI specialists, data analysts, and related jobs.
It seems promising that AI will simplify workloads by taking care of smaller tasks. Currently, companies are using AI as a tool to increase productivity, and as technology advances, demand for certain positions shifts rather than disappears.
