Kasheen Patel

AU2240042

COM 102 Expository Essay

Artificial Intelligence as the Architect of Tomorrow

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the most potent trends shaping the twenty-
first century that slowly but surely transforms the pace of labour and the concept of
employment. Now no longer the science-fiction promise of the future, AI already has a place
in our everyday lives: voice assistants, chatbots, medical diagnostics, and financial
forecasting. Such transformation has advanced one of the most burning questions of our
age: the impact of AI on the labor market. It always depends on who we are, what we deem
as worthwhile, or the purpose of something being created. These are always complex
because AI will create opportunities and it will destroy them, AI will be able to magnify our
productivity as well as a source of disruption. Its effects will be mainly positive or negative
not based on what the technology is but rather reshaping and how the societies themselves
respond to it.

On the one hand, AI promises an incredible effectiveness and creation potential. It is able to
deal with repetitive tedious administrative work in a number of seconds, freeing employees
to devote their time to more strategic and innovative aspects of their jobs (IBM, 2023). Just
as new professions were created with the introduction of the internet like web developers
and digital marketers are some of the examples, AI is already creating new professions such
as machine learning engineers, AI ethicists and human AI interaction specialists are just a
few examples (Nature, 2024). The possible fear of a mass replacement has also been noted
as being overstated by NRIC (2025) that when considering which jobs are fast likely to be
fully automated, it turns out that it is only 2.3 percent of the many jobs that really are
autotainable. Furthermore, AI is the means of improving work instead of replacing it; in
most sectors, human-AI cooperation introduces a stage of higher productivity and
occupational remuneration, thus defining the emergence of altogether new prospects
(Chicago Booth, 2023).

It is not only an optimistic story. Hundreds of millions of routine and middle-skill jobs
carrying out operations in retail (such as cashiers) and customer service (such as call center
reps) face automation. Nexford University (2023) created research that indicates up to 300
million jobs will be disrupted globally over the next decade. Contrary to the previous
technological changes, the current trend cuts cross all frontiers of manual work since even
the jobs of analysts and managers are at risk. Estimates are that up to 30 percent of these
types of jobs might not exist by 2030 leading some to use the term hollowing out the middle
class, a term used by some economists. David Autor and others fear that automation has
taken more jobs than it created since the 1980s, and there is a sobering possibility that AI
will not create the same job-generating miracle of past industrial revolutions (Reuters,
2025). Outcomes can include a further widening of the mismatch between workers with the
skills, education and capabilities able to work in the AI economy and those who are not able
to reskill.

This mixed quality highlights an important fact, artificial intelligence in its current or future
iterations will be neither the golden ticket nor the black hole. It is a reflection of human
decision and policy instead. An example is that despite some systems being defined as
automated, many still require large amounts of hidden human labor data labeling,
moderation, and oversight as evidence that AI is not eliminating work but redistributing it,
at times invisibly (UNRIC, 2025). In addition, Chicago Booth researchers single out the
uncertainty of projections related to the economic impact of AI, as some estimates point to
steep productivity increases, but others show the declination of wages and less employment
opportunities of the less skilled population. The issue depends on whether governments,
businesses and educational institutions will take bold steps in steering toward this change.
The way ahead simply requires investment in lifelong learning and reskilling. Using AI
powered e learning websites, individuals in remote or isolated communities can now have
access to the latest skills allowing them to transition out of vulnerable employment into
more sustainable employment. Meanwhile, human societies need to focus on human
strengths (empathy, creativity, and critical thinking raits) that machines, no matter how
sophisticated, will never be able to imitate. Such policies as universal basic income, fair
labor standards, and international ethical code by institutions such as the UNESCO can help
make sure that benefits of AI are equally distributed along with harmful risks (Time, 2025).

The question, however, remains how to strike a balance between the promise and peril of AI
on the job market which it is already having. I prefer to think of I as an amplifier of human
intent: it can intensify disparity, joblessness or it can drive growth and new affluency. The
decision rests on how we design, how we prepare workers and how we value human
dignity. Treated with the foresight and human understanding, AI could, in fact, become the
master of tomorrow: a future where technology complements human creativity rather than
replacing it.
References

IBM. (2023). AI and the Future of Work. IBM Think. https://www.ibm.com/think/insights/

Nature. (2024). Artificial intelligence and the future of work: balancing disruption and
opportunity. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.
https://www.nature.com/articles/ s41599-024-02647-9

Nexford University. (2023). How Will AI Affect Jobs? Nexford Insights.

UNRIC. (2025). Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work: Will AI Replace Our Jobs?
https://unric.org/en/artificial-intelligence-and-the-future-of-work-will-ai-replace-our-
jobs/

Chicago Booth Review. Labor market is going to be disrupted by AI. AI Is Soon to Wreak
Havoc on the Labor Market, but It Doesnt Have to Destroy It.
https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/ai-is-going-disrupt-labor-market-it-doesnt-have-
destroy-it

Reuters. (2025). After most humans are replaced with artificial intelligence, what happens?
https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/ ai-will-replace-most-humans-
then-what-