History is rich in episodes where some praised technology while others feared it. The man vs machine debate is not a thing of the 21^st century.  

Although neither proven nor widely accepted, it is said that in 1589, William Lee, an English clergyman and inventor, was denied the right to patent his stocking frame knitting machine for fear that many hand knitters would lose their jobs. A couple of centuries later, the industrial revolution came, brought about by some technological inventions such as the Spinning Jenny and Steam Engine, among others. It also brought broader acceptance of technological progress – at least for some.

More widely accepted – although the real cause might still be debated – and frequently mentioned as an important set of events in the history of industrialization, the Luddite riots between 1811 and 1816 were a manifestation of the fear of unemployment among workers. It was triggered by the Parliament revoking a 1551 law prohibiting the use of gig mills in the wool-finishing trade. It was made an offense punishable by death. The name Luddites remained in history, and it’s used to describe those opposed to technological progress, particularly automation.

Fear is not entirely unfounded. In the technological change and automation process, some jobs indeed disappear. Typists, bank tellers, switchboard operators, elevator operators. The list can be filled with some others. But history also reminds us that in that very same process, many other new jobs are created or transformed. This time, the list would be really long, but just to name one of the newest “kids” in town, prompt engineers.

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As a recruiter, very recently, January 2025, to be precise, looking for an update about the foreigner-owned or foreigner-ran startups and venture companies in Japan, I dropped my question to ChatGPT, which generously provided in no time. Clearly, ChatGPT had forgotten some key names which I knew because of my line of work. In an act of reciprocity from my side, I typed some companies’ names, and press the enter bottom, in a FYI fashion. After my second attempt, the previously forgotten names were included.

This is an oversimplification, and a rather mundane case, about working together with the machine, but it got me reflecting on what I had read in many reports about AI and employment. Is AI here to steal our jobs, or is it here to team up with us?

Depending on whom you ask, you might have a different answer. Ask a tech optimist and AI enthusiast, and you will feel that AI is a panacea. Or ask a modern Luddite, then you will get the doom and gloom speech of a machine is here to “kill” us all. Even the media seems to be more in love with stories such as a jobless future.

I choose moderation. And not because that looks like a comfortable place to be in, but because of a strong belief – together with millions of others – that AI, like many other general purpose technologies¹, is here to complement us and make us more efficient. I believe that it’s not about replacement – although some jobs indeed get completely wiped out – but human capacity augmentation or (occupation/job) transformation.

It is not an unfounded or snobbish belief. In the recruitment world, I have seen more of the positive side, complemented by various research reports and publications I have read, which, overall, are more on the positive side².  I don’t question that there’s some uncertainty about what the future will be like. There has always been uncertainty about what comes next. Only time will be the judge.

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To ease your worry or maybe AI anxiety, if you are one of those, it will help a lot understanding, or refreshing understanding of, two key things:

Any given job or occupation is a composition of a variety of tasks. Some are composed of a larger number of tasks than others. Each task has a different degree of complexity. Some occupations, mostly those with fewer tasks, can indeed be fully automated, but most cannot, as, precisely they are composed of many tasks, with varying degrees of automation. The key is to understand what AI can and cannot do. The second one, which is tied to the previous, is the growing importance of skills, mostly those in which we have a competitive edge over the machines.

Disruption to working lives is inevitable. It is about learning to be more adaptable and understanding that the future is about collaboration between humans and technology.

The faster you get on board with it, the better. It will encourage you to build or refine the skills and expertise needed in this increasingly analytical world..

In another post I have proposed some steps to evaluate if your dream job is under AI “risk”. For the time being, remember that the knowledge-intensive economy is becoming a highly analytical-intensive economy.. It’s not anymore about how much you know – surely Wikipedia knows more than you do; and surely ChatGPT can gather more facts than you. It is about practical knowledge or functional knowledge that can be applied to solving concrete problems or to creating value.

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1. General Purpose Technology (GPT) is a term coined by economists in 1995. It refers to any technology that is pervasive in our lives, has global reach, and generally are so powerful that disrupt industries. Some economists argue that, throughout history, there have been less than 30 GPTs. Some examples are the wheel, printing, steam engine, electricity, internet, and GenAI.

2. For instance, according to an OECD’s study, based on surveys of around five thousand people from Austria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, UK, USA, France, 79% and 80% of AI users in finance and manufacturing, respectively, said that AI had improved their own performance, compared to 8% in both sectors who said that AI had worsened it.