7 OCTOBER | LONDON 2024
SEPTEMBER 12TH - 14TH
The O2, LONDON
Future of Work
Your weekly CogX briefing on HR tech, automation, and the workplace
Will AI save the office?
We know that AI will affect jobs — but we may be underestimating just how much. As previous automation technologies displaced low-skilled work, the effects of AI on highly educated workers are still being underestimated.
But don’t rush into a career change: programming and prompting — two of today’s most in-demand skills — are also at risk of automation, warns an AI education expert. In the meantime, these abilities command sky-high salaries, with tech and retail giants paying top dollar for AI engineers and data scientists.
Meanwhile, we’re seeing AI drive a return to the office. In the US, AI companies are forecast to occupy half of all office space leased in the past year.
Read about these stories and more — including the tech company replacing nearly 8,000 jobs with AI — in the CogX Must-Reads.
CogX Must Reads
AI will change the global economy more than we realise, economist predicts
Previously, automation technologies had the most effect on low-skilled workers. But with generative AI, more educated and highly skilled workers are vulnerable. Stanford economist Erik Brynjolfsson predicts that we won’t see mass unemployment — but we will see mass disruption.
Technical skills won’t save you from the AI revolution
Don’t rush to learn programming or prompting to score a high-paying tech gig — these in-demand skills will soon be automated, warns AI education expert Dr Caitlin Bentley. Instead, focus on developing better AI interrogation, translation and editing skills, she advises.
Future of the Office
AI is driving the return to the office
AI companies do a lot of in-office work — and they’re keeping US commercial real estate afloat. By the end of 2023, AI companies will occupy 17.2 million square feet of office space across the country, which is half the total amount leased in the past year.
Startup founders: the hybrid model is the future of work
To demand workers to come into the office 100% of the time would be “madness”, one said. But to realise the benefits of hybrid work, managers need to better maintain distributed workforces.
AI and Automation
IBM will replace 7,800 jobs with AI
30% of back office jobs at the company — spanning finance, accounting, HR and other areas — will be gone within five years. Meanwhile, IBM is advertising dozens of AI-based roles.
Netflix isn’t the only company hiring for a $900,000 AI job
The streaming service made headlines for the eye-watering amount it was willing to pay an AI expert in the midst of Hollywood strikes. But Amazon, Walmart and others are offering similar sums to AI engineers and data scientists, suggesting that the competition for specialists is heating up
Top Stories
In case you missed it
Morgan Stanley’s experiments with generative AI have changed the definition of “work” for advisors and analysts:
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