On International Youth Day, we are looking at the topic of youth and AI. How will their future working world might look like in connection with artificial intelligence? In any case, it is certain that it will be different from the one we have today. How big these changes will be depends, of course, on the speed of development and how far we see into the future. But one thing is clear: sooner or later, certain tasks in companies above a certain size will no longer be done (only) by human hands.
AI surrounds us every day and in almost every situation. Whether voice assistants or recommendations on streaming platforms – AI is behind everything. So it’s not surprising that it can also be found in everyday professional life. Partly unnoticed, partly noticed, it supports us. This will become much more apparent in the future.
Youth and AI: Seize Artificial Intelligence as an opportunity
AI will take over work that is now done by humans. A terrible idea? No! Because it offers better and more opportunities. Many professions as we know them will no longer exist (cf. point 5 in the article by Zukunftsinstitut). Instead, many others and new ones will (have to) emerge. According to the Otto Brenner Foundation, progress has always existed. And with it, more and different jobs have always been created. Today’s youth, for example, will have more room for creativity or time for their fellow human beings.
In 2021, the Handelsblatt wrote that only six percent of companies use AI, but 73% of the entrepreneurs surveyed see artificial intelligence as the future.
How will AI make our everyday working lives easier?
Here are three examples:
- Repetitive, monotonous tasks such as reading and evaluating figures, receipts, documents or multiple or single-choice questionnaires in universities within seconds and reliably. An AI can also take over the assignment of e-mails (e-mail routing) or calls to certain departments, as is the case, for example, at the Austrian Regional Health Insurance Fund.
- Supporting activities can be found in a call centre, for example. The AI reads the caller number, finds the – possibly – already existing customer entry and the call centre agent can directly read the most important information. AI can also listen in on the conversation and draw the agent’s attention to important offers and information. But AI can also be used in medicine to provide support, for example when X-ray images and the like are evaluated. Of course, it is the doctor who has the last word, who can make more reliable diagnoses and, above all, spend more time on his patients.
- Difficult and dangerous tasks are taken over or prevented by AI. Accidents can be prevented by AI by predicting wear and tear on machines and machine parts in good time. In this way, these parts can be replaced preventively. Tasks that can pose a danger to workers can also be carried out in whole or in part by robotics with artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence will affect both employers and employees in the future world of work. That is why it is particularly important for our youth to deal with this topic more intensively. A study by the Weizenbaum Institute shows, that young people need to be better informed.
New Challenges: Working with AI
There are already many professions that deal with artificial intelligence. But one of the most important is that of the AI developer, because without him/her there is no AI. That’s why we want to take a closer look at this job.
AI developers primarily program new AI solutions that they have conceived and designed in cooperation with the customer. They develop them further and provide support for the users. They are also responsible for training the AI and evaluating the results. This is done either alone or in a team. Accordingly, the everyday life of an AI developer offers a lot of variety.
Other professions that deal with AI and go hand in hand with development are as follows:
- Machine Learning Researcher
- Data Mining and Analysis
- Machine Learning Engineer
- Data Scientist
- Business Intelligence (BI) Developer
- Risk Advisor
- KI Consultant
- … and many more.
At LinkThat, there are of course all kinds of tasks in a wide range of AI projects. We are always happy to receive applications and trial inquiries. Take a look at our jobs page!
Where to start?
Since our Headquarter is located in Vienna, this section focuses on Austrian institutes and schools. We will provide a broader overview in a future blog post.
To make it easier to get started, the KI-Campus Project was launched. Here, the most important basic knowledge is taught in German and English – in the form of courses, videos and podcasts.
TU Graz has also founded the ELDRIS Programme, a “driving licence” for AI knowledge that also includes educational modules and training.
The most intensive exposure takes place within the framework of a degree course or FH course. In Austria, the following institutions, among others, offer AI-focused courses:
- Linz Institute of Technologie (LIT)
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) in Klosterneuburg
- FH St. Pölten University of Applied Science
- Bertha von Suttner Privatuniverstität St. Pölten
- FH Technikum Wien
- FH Campus Wien
- WIFI WIEN – KI-Akademie
The Bundesministerium für Inneres also has a guide on how best to get a foothold.
Are you still thinking about it? We think: Focusing on AI in your education path now will open many doors to numerous exciting opportunities for you in the future! Artificial intelligence will be an important cornerstone for the progress of our future.
Questions which will stay with us
Young people are facing a paradigm shift in the world of work that, in truth, affects us all. To be prepared for this progress, it is useful to address some questions now.
- What is AI all about? What can AI do?
- Where are the possible dangers, and are my fears justified?
- What does AI have to do with my data? Who gets access to my data, when and how, and how can I protect myself from this? Are there guidelines and if so, which ones?
- Thinking a little further: Who decides what AI is allowed to decide? What authority does an AI network have to issue directives, and what are the implications of results provided by AI?
The search for these answers will accompany us in the coming decades. We also want to deal with this more intensively in the future with further blog posts.