Submitted by Moon_Devonshire t3_11mbaov in Futurology

To better understand what I mean. Sooner or later grocery stores won't even need people anymore. Factories will have no need for people. Same thing with truck driving.

So many things will be taken over with automation. So, right now I'm only 24 years old. But what type of world will I be living in when I'm 45? 50? Obviously we can't predict the future perfectly. But are there any particular skills and things I should be taking seriously and learning now that will become extremely relevant in the future?

I just applied for a part time job at a grocery store near by. But sooner or later. People won't be able to do that anymore.

So I guess my main question is, what should we all be learning to stay "relevant" in the work force 20-30 years from now?

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ConscienceRound t1_jbh11mh wrote

A lot of folks are gonna say "Tech" because it's a booming industry. But to me, I would argue it's not which industries are going to boom, it's which industries aren't going to shrink their staff size due to AI. For example, if coding can be done twice as fast in the future with AI, then why wouldn't they only then need half the staff? Not every business will think like that but many will, especially in an economic crunch.

So, I would say the things AI nor physical automation definitely can't replace are trades. Plumbers, electricians, builders etc... Any job that is physical but not predictable. Factory work and warehouse work therefore doesn't qualify.

Less firmly, but I still think it's a safe bet to say that industries requiring empathy won't be in trouble anytime soon. Social workers, counsellors, etc... If anything with the increased isolation and separation of society, I expect these industries to grow. Talking to a digital tablet in a foam room is no substitute.

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Lykanya t1_jbiyi0q wrote

AI is far far less capable than people are giving it credit, it will improve with time however, that is true.
The first jobs to go won't really be the doers, it will be the managers.
However as you say, infrastructure and physical jobs are safe, and will likely be for a very, very long time. They are inconvenient and 'dirty' jobs however.

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SyntheticDreams_ t1_jc51chu wrote

AI generated content is pretty rapidly cranking out decent advice and emotional support, though. It wouldn't surprise me if the empathy professions begin to get phased out at least in part in the next few years. Especially roles like crisis line workers where it's entirely a support role without a clinical or diagnostic focus.

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Mrs_Wheelyke t1_jbi0c1i wrote

Theoretically the automation of most jobs would be to the benefit of the majority of humans being able to exist in a self-fulfillment focused post-scarcity post-capitalist society. So like, the arts, reinforcing social groups, sports, hobbies, exploration. Tea, earl gray, hot.

If we reach that point of automation and we're still left brawling for the scraps of human employment to avoid starving to death... uh. You like dystopia fiction?

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-Sephandrius- t1_jbinn94 wrote

I recommend a nice braised billionaire paired with a red wine. Really brings out the inhumanity in the meat. Tastes divine

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BigTimeTA t1_jbgxr86 wrote

Learn AI Whispering skills. Basically, you keep telling the language model bot some things until it learns, it's like training a dog. Whispering is a real job, I'm not kidding.

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Ok_Understanding4934 t1_jbihy56 wrote

Survival Skills, Guns, Guerrilla Tactics, Self Defense, explosives, grown own food, farming, make bullets, use of solar panels.

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AppliedTechStuff t1_jbjm07e wrote

Sounds like you've been surveilling our ranch...

Watch out for the claymores!

(I'm kidding about the claymores. No, we use tin cans on trip wire and punji stick pits.)

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lastone2finish t1_jbh10rr wrote

Depends.. what kind of job you want to do? Any thing specific you like to do?

But you and everyone needs to relax a bit, AI advancement isn’t in the point that will replace grocery stores workers any time soon. It’s all too fresh and expensive… to hire a person like you is cheaper and more efficient.

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ThisElder_Millennial t1_jbjlics wrote

Precisely. Hell, we're still a ways off from trustworthy self-driving vehicles, given that the software still isn't as good as us meatbags. Even if we do get automated semi-trucks with reliable programming, getting them approved from a regulatory perspective will also slow things down considerably.

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lastone2finish t1_jbjp91f wrote

Yeap… people see all these news about AI, and think tomorrow the robots will take over the world…

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norby2 t1_jbhgphe wrote

Isn’t at the point now. Now isn’t what everybody’s worried about. I don’t feel hungry now. In an hour I’ll have to go get some food. I’m planning ahead for that Meal.

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lastone2finish t1_jbighr9 wrote

I understand, but what I am saying is that in 20/30 years I don’t think nothing major will change regarding the replacement of part time people at grocery stores… that’s all.

To be in the relevant work force, all he needs to do if be good at is job.

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LookAtMeImAName t1_jbgwdj6 wrote

Software engineering, computer science, coding, robotics, to name a few. You can absolutely not go wrong with any of these

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AppliedTechStuff t1_jbjlgpr wrote

I agree with robotics. There are going to be a lot more of those needing repair.

Coding? I don't know about that... Low-code / no-code is growing like weeds.

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LookAtMeImAName t1_jbk0svt wrote

Yes, there will be no-code/low-code solutions increasing, but they will be cookie-cutter applications like the website builders (wix, etc.). Yet, specialized applications will always need programmers

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AppliedTechStuff t1_jbkc081 wrote

I don't believe we're going to need a fraction of what we have now.

Same thing for writers. Machine written articles are getting awfully good.

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Notsure401 t1_jbhodne wrote

Any career path that involves decision making: Law, Business, Management, Marketing, etc.

Those will be hard to replace because guess what, no matter how well a machine can perform the tasks involved in those areas, POLICYMAKERS WON'T RELINQUISH DECISION MAKING TO MACHINES ANYTIME SOON.

You can ask an AI chat bot anything about legal counseling, but no matter how good they are at solving cases, judges and many legislators themselves are LAWYERS, they will always demand a human to have the final saying on anything. They are the key masters.

Also, science careers that help you understand what the heck is going on in this brave new world: Engineering, economics, mathematics, computer sciences, etc.

Stay away from philosophy, most of humanities, psychology. They are already obsolete, in a matter of years they will be meaningless, in a generation or two they will be worth little more than astrology. Sorry if i'm being too harsh on the last one, no mean to offend anyone but it looks like we are heading there.

Last but not least, no matter what you do, pick an athletic and/or an artistic skill. Health and creativity are more important than ever for self improvement.

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czk_21 t1_jbjj9td wrote

> Law, Business, Management, Marketing, etc.

might be true that ppl in management wont like to relinquish, but for others-most of marketing could be done by AI nowadays or in next years, law could be similar, point isnt that the profession will be replaced alogether in near future but that existing lawyers etc will be much more efficient and there will be too many of them for the amount of work that needs to be done, so there will not really be need for new ones

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AppliedTechStuff t1_jbjlw9r wrote

The top 10-20% in any field will become hyper-efficient--priceless!

The others will need OBI.

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AppliedTechStuff t1_jbjlqmr wrote

AI will decimate...no, worse than that...halve the legal profession.

Repetitive tasks are its forte.

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Notsure401 t1_jbjtd4n wrote

Exactly. AI solving repetitive tasks for litigation will be in benefit of Lawyers. What you are missing is that an attorney gets paid to make decisions and signing his endorsement of such decisions.

If any, it’s paralegals and other staff working under the supervision of lawyers are the ones who are in trouble, not lawyers themselves.

It doesn’t matter if the machine solves the problem. Cutting the middle man will be a pain in that case… because this middleman so happens to be the one passing and interpreting the LAW (not to mention that this are the guys who are the most likely choices for president, and not just in the US)

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It-s_Not_Important t1_jbj0qua wrote

Why did you put psychology on your obsolete list? Seems as though there will be a great need for therapists. Nobody wants to do something that personal with a robot.

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Notsure401 t1_jbj14on wrote

Because psychology as we know it will probably become just an appendix of psychiatry and neuroscience. Those are more likely the professionals who are going to design and dispense therapy in the future.

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It-s_Not_Important t1_jblrux6 wrote

I don’t know if I agree with that. I can see that it is a logical conclusion for how humans may be treated. But while I’ve never used their services in the past, I wouldn’t want the experience to be boiled down to a diagnosis and a prescription. The thought of it makes me sad, it feels dehumanizing.

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Tronith87 t1_jbhuw48 wrote

I’d be more concerned about the biosphere collapsing.

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wafer2014 t1_jbikxpa wrote

Become a plumber everyone needs to poop, long was off automating cleaning out and repairing underground pipes and they make a shit load of money, charging up to $180 ($118USD) hr in Australia.

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Turbulent-Pea-8826 t1_jbhnov3 wrote

Tech is still where it’s at. AI can write code but someone has to know coding to ask for the code and to know if it’s right. AI will write the wrong code with the greatest of confidence. You can’t just get some AI to write some code and throw it out into production without testing and knowing if it will work.

We still don’t have (full on human)robots, so robotics will be huge while that catches up.

IT support. Users can’t even articulate what the issue is with their computer. “It’s broken” is all I can get out of them half the time. I had one guy accidentally close his app and he just kept saying the computer shut down. It was powered on, it never lost power he just closed his browser window somehow by accident.

So while AI will take some of the stress of front line IT Helpdesk support we still will need people to interpret the idiot users and change their printer ink for a while.

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Maleficent_Waltz_141 t1_jbiir4y wrote

I would argue that tech is a bit mixed as far as the future is concerned. Some data scientists and software engineers have used chatgpt to code and they all say that despite being wrong frequently, it makes coding easier and faster. This can potentially reduce both the number of jobs needed and the pay-grade (because the job is now easier). You can literally tell chatgpt that the code didnt work without any explanation and sometimes chatgpt will correct it with no issues. You can even vaguely describe whats wrong or copy-paste the error message, and chatgpt will fix the code. Hours of tearing through stackoverflow can be saved by simply asking AI. This is only the first public version too. Im willing to bet that chatgpt will become insanely good at coding in the near future. Traditional coding is definitely an area that AI will overtake.

Its also possible that AI will open new doors in tech that may either maintain its current state or grow it in further.

I do agree on robotics though. Robotics will become huge.

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fra_bia91 t1_jbisz0y wrote

Why do you think robotics will be huge?

I mean, it's an important field and it will continue to grow, but I don't see necessarily how AI is changing it. I can imagine that most people expect fully sentient, maybe even human-like, robots to start popping out any time soon, but I think that between the costs of robotics, and the cheaper labor given by AI, it's not particularly on my radar. Though for sure IoT will benefit from AI (not sure if you consider this as robotics too).

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Maleficent_Waltz_141 t1_jbjrxgx wrote

AI can make robots better at existing jobs. Currently robots of any kind (roombas, factory arms, childrens toys, etc) are all programed with specific tasks. AI has the potential to allow the robot to identify if something went wront or perform new tasks. It has potential for sure. I just dont when itll happen

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Iffykindofguy t1_jbjg93g wrote

Delusional. You say tech is where its at because the chatbots you speak to today spew out bad code. By the time someone goes and gets a degree in some tech field that wont be the case.

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Turbulent-Pea-8826 t1_jbjh8u0 wrote

You are delusional in thinking a non tech person can just tell a chatbot to build an entire, complex program from scratch without a technical person who can ensure it is correct.

Sure we may be there one day but by the time that happens we will be so far fucked that this entire conversation is meaningless. Either we have reworked our entire economy or we have descended into economic hell where no one earns money.

Technical jobs might be easier but they will still have to exist to oversee this whole process.

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Iffykindofguy t1_jbjhpdt wrote

Where did I say a non tech person could do that? I dont think all jobs will go away but for every 20 now there will be 1 in the future. And no it would be like 5-10 years from now based on current growth. Do you have any points that arent just based on your feelings?

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Turbulent-Pea-8826 t1_jbjih05 wrote

So let me make sure I understand you. You don’t think someone should go into tech yet you say a non tech person can’t code with AI? You are not being consistent.

This whole conversation is based on conjecture and speculation. You accuse me of only citing my feeling yet you have provided no evidence. Feel free to drop in some facts or citations to anything you said and stop being hypocritical.

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Iffykindofguy t1_jbjo8qf wrote

No, what are you talking about? Where are all the people in tech right now in your equation? Thats literally millions of people.

​

I'm not the one making shit up. You are

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Mushroom-Communist t1_jbi6scs wrote

We as a society must transform the economy so it will work in interests of everyone, this way every automation method can help people

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-Sephandrius- t1_jbins4x wrote

^ This comrade gets it. We have nothing to lose but our chains

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Tnuvu t1_jbiqm9g wrote

critical thinking and creativity, basically everything that A.I. can't and won't be able to do without feed data.

You could for a while learn data science, but the timeframe is max 1-2 decdes until it becomes obsolete in the face of such great mass agregators

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jznwqux t1_jbj5qjb wrote

something what is useful for AI and it won't kill you :)
Serverroom cleaner? robot repairer (in case it can't fix itself).

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imlaggingsobad t1_jbjb886 wrote

>work force 20-30 years from now

hahaha there ain't gonna be a work force

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No-Match9964 t1_jbkygnm wrote

At some point all jobs will be done by robots. No job is safe. It won’t happen as fast as you think, though. When I was a kid the atm was invented and they said bank tellers and eventually banks would become obsolete. It was a real thing that people argued and did news stories about. People actually boycotted atms or moved their money from banks that used them because they didn’t think it was fair for a person to lose their job to a machine. That was fifty years ago. I see physical branches are closing now. It is happening as predicted but it also took the invention of camera phones, direct deposit, and the internet to make it work. So yeah, eventually everyone’s worse fears about AI will happen but not in our lifetimes. I mean factory automation happened before and during my lifetime and society adjusted. AI will be no different.

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JaxJaxon t1_jbl8ycb wrote

The most needed thing will be intelligence. A strong knowledge of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and manufacturing. All that AI and robotics wont work if a strong EM pulse hits the earth like from a sun spot. And we will need the ability to rebuild all the electrical machines, from the generating of electricity to the refrigerators and auto mobiles. Because when a strong EM pulse hits any thing that has a electrical charge in it or once had a charge becomes inert useless. And the only way to protect from this is a very strong faraday cage.

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DRAGONtmu t1_jbhur10 wrote

2 skills you should learn…

  1. How to homestead farm with limited space.. mostly indoors ..
  2. How to make bullets

Currency of the future will be food and ammo ..

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