10 Careers that will be replaced by AI in the next 10 years

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has certainly made life easier for us. With automation, previously tedious and time-consuming tasks can be handled in minutes. Right now, there is no industry that AI has not infiltrated, and while it has done us a lot of good, there is still a certain fear that lingers at the back of our minds. The widespread use of AI by companies has changed the way we work, but the question is, will they one day replace us in the workplace? 

It is highly unlikely that AI will completely replace humans in any career, however, entry-level roles will be greatly impacted since they usually involve simple and repetitive tasks in which AI are experts. Emotional intelligence and human judgement are extremely crucial to every career and AI can not duplicate this. So while many jobs will be replaced in the future, humans will always be needed in the workforce. 

AI are developing fast and many companies have invested in their growth. It is obvious why companies would want to utilize AI instead of human workers. They are faster, more efficient, do not get tired, do not get stressed, and do not get paid salaries. At the level that AI is right now, they can only replace humans in jobs that are mundane and repetitive, but more professional jobs still need the touch of humans. But at the rate AI is improving, these jobs may also be at risk in the future. 

In the next decade, AI will replace a lot of jobs, but it will also create many more. When automation becomes more advanced and widely used, the need for many professionals will reduce. 

Careers that are at risk of being replaced by AI

1. Data entry and bookkeeping clerks 

As AI-powered automation and optical character recognition (OCR) systems keep improving, the need for manual data entry clerks continues to decrease and may soon disappear altogether.

There are also many software that helps with bookkeeping like QuickBooks and FreshBooks, reducing the need for hiring an actual bookkeeper. All you have to do is enter your information into the system and it will store and organize the data accurately. 

2. Telemarketers

The need for telemarketers has already reduced drastically with online marketing and other forms of digital marketing being more efficient. AI-powered chatbots and automated calling systems can handle customer inquiries and sales calls, and as this technology becomes more intelligent and advanced, the need for telemarketers may become completely eradicated. 

3. Cashiers

Tracking inventories, collecting payments and answering customer questions is the job of a cashier, but may soon become the job of an AI. Self-checkout systems and cashier-less stores are on the rise, so the need for cashiers and retail workers is reducing. 

4. Truck and taxi drivers

Each new car that is being produced has newer and better AI features added, and if things continue to move forward at the speed that it is going, it will not be long before fully self-driven cars are produced.

Companies like Uber and Lyft have started coming up with autonomic cars driven by AI instead of human drivers. It is highly probable that taxis, buses and trucks will become fully autonomous in the future, erasing the need for human drivers. 

5. Customer support representatives

The job of customer service representatives typically involves answering customer queries and addressing their concerns. There are specific guidelines for each customer service role which AI can easily replicate. The job doesn’t involve high emotional or social intelligence which AI are particularly deficient at. 

In the future, it is easy to see how AI will replace customer support representatives. Since customers’ questions and queries are repetitive, they can easily be automated. And since AI learns fast, the bots will be able to learn from experience with customers to generate more efficient answers. 

6. Paralegals and legal assistants

While robots may not be able to stand in a court and defend clients, there are still many legal jobs that AI can perform, including the job of a paralegal. The job of paralegals and legal assistants is typically to digest a large amount of information and legal text and present it in an easily understandable manner as legal briefs or opinions.

This is quite similar to the work of automation done by AI, and AI does it better and faster. However, these jobs still require human judgement in identifying the specific needs of the clients. So it is highly unlikely that AI will completely displace paralegals and legal assistants, but it will greatly reduce the need for them. 

7. Financial analysts

AI is good at analyzing large and complex data, identifying trends and providing investment recommendations, which is the job of financial analysts. AI can already perfectly perform the repetitive and mundane aspects of a financial analyst job and has reduced the work burden on them.

In the future, AI might be able to perform more complex tasks of a financial analyst and greatly reduce the need for them. 

8. Journalists and writers

AI can write different kinds of content including cover letters, articles for publication and even children’s books. AI can read, write and understand both written and spoken information. AIs are also much faster than humans and can generate articles within minutes which humans cannot do, and as AI keeps improving it may even become better than humans.

However, AI lacks emotional and social intelligence and there is a lot of human judgement that goes into writing, so AI might not be able to completely kick out humans from the publication sphere. So although human writers might soon be replaced by AI, human editors will still be needed to edit what AI has written. 

9. Receptionists

As many more automated phones and online scheduling become available, a lot of traditional receptionist roles will be displaced. Some companies have even started using robots at their receptionst.

There are some advanced AI receptionists available like AimeReception that can see, listen, talk to and understand guests. 

10. Couriers

It’s only a matter of time before AI dominates the courier service industry. Companies have started experimenting with robots which are much faster and more efficient than humans. Walmart and Amazon are already experimenting with this technology, and it will not be long before it will start being implemented widely. 

Conclusion

The future is unknown to us, so we can only make predictions. With the speed of AI advancement, these careers are the ones more at risk of being replaced by AI. However, since we do not know what the future holds, AI might end up advancing in unexpected ways. 

While there is a great risk for our careers with AI advancement, it should not only fill us with fear but also hope. As careers are displaced due to the advancement of AI, more careers will be made available, and the ones remaining will benefit a lot from AI. If the utilization of AI increases, people will be needed to build and maintain the AI. Also, with automation, a lot of jobs will become easier since we will no longer have to do the boring and time-consuming jobs ourselves.

So if you are among the careers that might be replaced by AI soon, it’s best to start preparing now so you will not be unemployed when that time comes. Learn a new skill that will be beneficial in the future, and prepare yourself for how things may change.