Does the Future 'Work'?
• Most future ‘De-Extinction Geneticist’ work with ecology restoration workers to rebalance ecosystems. Some work in agriculture. However, some de-extinction and conservation geneticists work in novelty areas, bringing dinosaurs, aurochs, Tasmanian tigers and woolly mammoths back to life for wealthy people who want to own them as pets. This is a controversial area of de-extinction genetics, as reintroduction of extinct animals and plants can lead to harm to modern species, and cause imbalance in ecosystems. De-extinction and conservation geneticists will have strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. They will be good at maths and research, and have advanced qualifications in life sciences, genetics and the species they specialise in..
Future Job from ‘100 Jobs of the Future’. Illustration by Lee Lai
Words by Cher Tan
Illustrations by Lee Lai
This story is brought to you by our partner, Deakin University
As artificial intelligence, Big Data and robots gain more prominence in an accelerated future, the idea of work is seeing a shift. With a new employment paradigm on the horizon comes uncertainty, and it’s easy to imagine a worst-case scenario – but the prospects of working with machines are endless, freeing up unprecedented possibilities for society.
The world of work as we know it is changing. Gone are the traditional nine-to-five, clock-in-clock-out types of work that many in older generations saw as a fixed reality. In its place, unique jobs are sprouting up: full-stack engineers, social media influencers, app designers, algorithm interpreters. Alongside the rise of technology, not only are new jobs being created – new forms of labour are also being invented. Artificial intelligence (AI), Big Data and robots are increasingly being trained through machine learning to take up the work that some of us used to do. And as routine, codified work becomes the express doman of non-human labourers, we are seeing a paradigm shift in the world of human work.
Despite the alarmist tone that some of this news takes, it’s an inevitable certainty that some jobs will one day be fully automated. Already, we’re seeing this in the form of supermarket cashiers and transcribers, as well as highly-skilled positions such as financial analysts. But a new report has confirmed that these emerging concerns around technological disruptions are unfounded. In fact, evidence suggests that partial automation of the workforce can lead to positive patterns of change.
According to “100 Jobs of the Future”, a report from research jointly conducted by a team of experts from Ford Australia, Griffith University and Deakin University, skills that are entrepreneurial and digital in nature will be highly valued in the years to come. This includes interpersonal skills and knowledge of STEM/STEAM processes. Fields that are now gaining traction, such as 3D printing, blockchains, drones and space tourism, will open up new avenues of work.
However, rather than putting an end to the types of jobs currently available on the market, it provides an exciting future for society to take advantage of this unprecedented moment to reshape existing systems. There is a sense of a “clean slate” – an opportunity for us to create something entirely unheard of.
• A Future ‘Child Assistant Bot Programmer’ designs humanoid robots (kiddobots) that supervise and manage children's free time, help them play safely, guide their interactions and provide a platform for their education. These bots can be personalised and programmed to align with family preferences, values and rules. The child assistant bot programmer will have knowledge of AI programming and humanoid robot mechanics. They will also understand early childhood and child development as well as learning theories and practices. The programmers may work in teams with robot designers and program developers to ensure the flexibility in programs to include personalised family personalities and needs as well as to integrate with early childhood centre's systems.
Future Job from ‘100 Jobs of the Future’. Illustration by Lee Lai
What does this mean? After all, the concept of the ‘company man’ is increasingly anachronistic. Young workers are more likely to experience a ‘portfolio career’ – job-hopping and upskilling across more than 10 jobs – than spend 20 years at the same company, slowly working their way to a corner office on the top floor. There is less emphasis on conventional qualifications as more self-starters enter the scene, as well as an amalgamation of once-incompatible skill sets (such as art and tech, or STEM and coding) that allows for greater room for flexibility around what a job can be.
“Many argue that this will make jobs more interesting and rewarding, creating more room for personal and community values, creativity and imagination. The general view is that in future, jobs need to be working with machines, rather than competing with them,” the report states.
Caroline Rosenberg, a psychologist and researcher at Deakin University, agrees. “The courage and ambition [that results] feed the system with new energy,” she writes in an article on the changing face of leadership. Even as society is currently facing a digital disruption, “the ability to make sense and take advantage of this new reality is an essential characteristic of successful leadership.”
Indeed, what would the future look like if, instead of rejecting digital disruption, we embrace it? What if we concede to the fact that AI can do some jobs better than humans, allowing us to focus on the ones that help us stretch our limitless imaginations? What kind of possibilities would that free up?
In countries like Finland, a Universal Basic Income (UBI) system has been implemented for those who are unemployed. It works like the dole, except that recipients will continue to receive it whether or not they find work. In doing this, the government hopes that it will encourage the unemployed to look for work without fearing that they will lose their benefits. Already, this has seen significant shifts in the rise of entrepreneurship within Finnish society, especially as people feel happier and more fulfilled when the stress around maintaining a fixed income has been eradicated.
“There have been few times in history when the future of work has been less like the past.”
• A future ‘Gamification designer’ designs games for a range of domains – such as primary education, public health or aged care – adding game logic and processes to enhance user engagement to achieve better outcomes and enrich lives. They will have a mix of skills and domain expertise, and a high level of technology literacy and expertise in psychology and user experience. With connected digital devices underpinning social and economic networks, this technological ecosystem will increase the depth and breadth of gamification opportunities. Gaming will become a pervasive part of our lives with organisations using gamification to incentivise behaviours and increase engagement. For example, public health organisations could offer reward points towards a holiday for buying healthy groceries online or increasing physical activity.
Future Job from ‘100 Jobs of the Future’. Illustration by Lee Lai
Finland's economic policy is designed to support a smooth transition into the future of work – easing the adjustment period as we evolve into a more automated workforce. According to Deakin University research: “There have been few times in history when the future of work has been less like the past.” As we’re seeing in Finland, policies like UBI offer a balm to the inevitable growing pains of increased automation, enabling workers to creatively adapt to a more tech-driven employment landscape.
Taking this into consideration, what would the future look like if we implemented UBI and let robots do the work for us? After all, it has been shown that pursuing non-traditional pathways — particularly those that encourage creativity and purpose—have led to a higher boost in general employee well-being. When I asked games designer Dylan Fox his thoughts about a UBI, he was very enthusiastic: “It would allow me to outsource the more basic aspects of games design to AI, and help me develop more complex processes alongside these AI. And instead of being tied down to an agency, more free time would probably help me work on snazzier ideas that otherwise would be on the backburner.”
Freelance copywriter Jess Ho recognises this as well. “To be completely honest, I’m looking forward to this kind of future. This means that robots would do my copywriting work, and I’d be able to fully utilise my creative writing degree to focus on the short fiction I want to write,” she says.
Indeed, the possibilities afforded to a workless, UBI-enabled future are vast. After all, as Dr. Rosenberg writes in her article, “There is no formula for wisdom, no algorithm for empathy.”