We are at the dawn of a revolution of knowledge work

Over the past period, knowledge work has experienced digitalization. Paper and Pencil have been replaced by Personal Computers; Sending letters has evolved in a networked economy with the rise of the internet. The availability of data and network has created the platform for the next pivot in knowledge work: The rise of Agents powered by Artificial Intelligence. This next shift will be nothing short but a revolution for knowledge workers as witnessed during the Industrial Revolution with the invention of the steam machine. [1]

Work will not be replaced, but people who do not use AI will.

Studies predict that with current Artificial Intelligent capabilities more than 80% of jobs can be done more efficiently and around 19% of jobs could be automated for at least 50%. At the same time, it has also been found that human work is not going away but is enhanced by interfacing with AI. [2] More repetitive tasks are automated by workers using specialized Artificial Intelligence tools. That gives workers time to focus on non-repetitive value adding tasks. At the same time, it requires skills to utilize the new technology (ICT Skills). Workers with the skills to use the new technology will outperform workers that do not. Workers that do not use the Artificial Intelligence will gradually be replaced.

Skilled workers will continue to be short.

It is predicted that in 2025, we will have 1.67 million unfilled vacancies that requires ICT skills in the European Union alone. [3] Already in 2021, more than 60 % of EU enterprises that recruited or tried to recruit ICT specialists had difficulties in filling ICT vacancies.[4] That applies even stronger more to talents with the ability to build Artificial Intelligence applications. The talent market has seen a spiral towards an increasing war for talents given the shortage of skilled workers.  

Links

• [1] 2023; HBR; How to Capitalize on Generative AI; link here

• [2] 2023; MIT Artificial Intelligence and Jobs: Evidence from Online Vacancies; link here

• [3] 2019; Promoting Integration & Diversity In The Digital Labour Market; link here

• [4] 2023; EuroStat; ICT specialists - statistics on hard-to-fill vacancies in enterprises; link here