Revolutionary AI applications promise to transform the job market

The increasing influence of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) promises to bring significant change to the job market. According to experts, AI can offer a solution in sectors that suffer from personnel shortages, such as healthcare and ICT. Despite some concerns about job losses, there is a strong expectation that AI can actually boost the creation of new jobs.

General Practitioner Matenpark

The general practice Matenpark in Apeldoorn illustrates this trend. By using an AI chatbot to communicate with patients, the doctor’s assistant now has a digital colleague. This saves her considerable time and paves the way for more efficient use of existing capacity. This chatbot, called ‘Talk to the Doctor’, was designed by GP Peter Dekkers. He believes that AI solutions like these can play a valuable role in alleviating the immense pressure on the healthcare sector.

AI also has the potential to change the labor market in other areas. According to experts at OpenAI, AI tools can take over a significant portion of the tasks now performed by professionals in positions as diverse as mathematicians, tax advisors, financial analysts, writers and web designers.

Maarten Goos, professor at Utrecht University and an expert in the field of technological influences on the labor market, sees AI as a potentially important means of solving personnel shortages. According to him, this technology will also change the dynamics of our employment relationships, which will require adaptations and new skills of employees.

Enthusiasm and uncertainty

In the ICT sector, which has been struggling with a chronic shortage of personnel for years, the impact of AI is already visible. The advent of AI tools such as ChatGPT, which is capable of writing code on its own, has created both excitement and uncertainty. While some believe this could lead to a decrease in the need for programmers, companies such as software company Codeless in Dordrecht are optimistic. They believe that the increased efficiency through AI will actually lead to more work.

Recent research from the World Economic Forum supports this view. The study, conducted at companies in 45 countries, shows that 75% of all companies surveyed expect to deploy AI between now and 2027. While a quarter of companies expect the deployment of AI to lead to job losses, half expect that AI will create new jobs.

Dekkers, the general practitioner in Apeldoorn, plans to further develop its AI chatbot using advanced AI. Although he does not believe that the bot will completely replace the assistant or the general practitioner, he sees significant opportunities for improvement and expansion. “We plan to implement the chatbot in multiple practices,” said Dekkers. “The language and functionality of the chatbot needs to improve, and as there are more users, the chatbot will have to perform better and better.”

More jobs thanks to technological progress

Professor Goos emphasizes that technological progress has historically always led to the creation of more jobs. “Economist Keynes predicted at the beginning of the twentieth century that future generations would become unemployed due to technological progress. That prediction has not come true. On the contrary, more and more jobs have been created.”

Favorable for the labor market

This sentiment reflects the growing consensus among experts that, despite potential disruptions, the rise of AI will be overall beneficial for the job market. Indeed, with the increasing integration of AI in various professions, the future of work seems to point to an increase in productivity and job creation, rather than the disappearance of jobs.