Automation is by no means a new phenomenon, but the recent rise of generative artificial intelligence has sparked debates in many industries about whether or not they pose a threat. Will programs like OpenAI’s text and image generators make human employees obsolete? Here are some jobs that some fear are threatened by AI-powered automation.
AI technology has already made its way into the legal profession, but recent advances in the field have people wondering if it will eventually make lawyers obsolete. Reuters recently reported that the dean of a law school used OpenAI’s ChatGTP chatbot to write a legal brief and found that the program could “imitate the work of lawyers, with varying degrees of success.”
Consumer advocacy tech company DoNotPay recently caused a stir after announcing that its AI-enhanced “robot lawyer” would soon help with a real-life traffic court case. The device, which runs on a smartphone, would listen to arguments in court and formulate a response that would be transmitted to the defendant via wireless headphones. While the company’s CEO, Joshua Browder, admits that commercialization of his creation is some way off, he already has his sights set on testing his legal algorithm in more serious cases. he recently offered $1 million to any lawyer with an upcoming US Supreme Court case who would agree to “wear AirPods and let our robot lawyer argue the case by repeating exactly what he says.”
Unpaid internships could eventually be a thing of the past, but not for the reasons they should be. Tech marketing agency Codeword recently decided to use AI “interns” to help its editorial and design teams complete “menial but necessary tasks.” The interns in question are digital software models who created their own images and names: Aiko and Aiden. They will be responsible for working on graphic designs, research, and generating editorial content. The couple will share their internship experiences on the company’s blog and social media.
“It’s an opportunity to streamline internal processes by eliminating necessary but boring and time-consuming tasks, or at least passing them on to emotionless interns who can’t get bored,” says Codeword senior editor Terrence Doyle, per Axios.
The visual arts community is at the forefront of the debate on the ethics of generative AI. Innovative technology like Open AI’s DALL-E 2 text-to-image generator has become increasingly controversial. The program analyzes hundreds of images to help you create an image based on the text message provided by the user. The images created by DALL-E 2 range from bizarre to stunningly beautiful, making digital art accessible to everyone. Mark Chen, principal investigator for DALL-E 2, said that OpenAI created the tool to “democratize image generation for a group of people who wouldn’t necessarily classify themselves as artists.” With such advanced images easily created, many wonder if creative professionals should worry about keeping their jobs.
Another image-making app, Lensa AI, went viral last year after people started using it to create artistic portraits based on their own photos. The app’s popularity has reignited concerns about the ethics of generative AI, especially considering that it uses the art of human artists to enhance its technology. Several artists have sued the company for using their art without their permission.