With the rise of AI systems in recent years, workers worldwide have expressed growing concern. Some describe tools like ChatGPT as harbingers of job loss due to their impressive efficiency. For many, AI feels like a threat to job security.
Stevie Fox of Rain Marketers speculates that a fear of change underlies anxiety about AI. “If someone has been working at a company for 20 years,” she said, “and suddenly there’s less demand for their position, that would definitely scare them.”
Global policymakers are beginning to address the potential consequences of AI, including mass layoffs. However, the U.S. remains in the early stages of this technological shift. The future is still uncertain.
Rain Marketers, like other small businesses, refuses to wait for the unknown. Since its inception, AI has played a central role in its workflow. “We like to use AI for less creative tasks,” Fox said. The AI handles the monotonous tasks, leaving the more intellectually demanding ones to his team. This makes their work not only more efficient but also stimulating.
Tasks like sorting emails, sending follow-ups, and managing newsletters are now automated. “Things that just take up our energy and time,” Fox said. Thanks to AI productivity, the Rain Marketing team focuses almost exclusively on creative tasks.
Their use of AI has grown exponentially since the beginning. Fox’s initial reaction to AI systems like ChatGPT was optimistic. “It’s all about perspective,” he said, describing AI’s role in the workforce in general. His approach was proactive, quickly educating himself on AI’s uses, rather than worrying about its potential drawbacks.
According to Fox, one can approach AI in two ways: avoidance or adaptation. The latter, for him, reaps innumerable benefits.
Lou Pereyra, owner of Tiny Mountain Houses, also uses AI to streamline operations. Over the past year, AI has taken over customer quotes, a task that once consumed valuable team hours.
“I think it just came out of necessity,” Lou said, reflecting on their decision to incorporate AI. “The conversation wasn’t about AI, it was about making things easier for our buyers.” AI was seamlessly integrated into Tiny Mountain Houses’ workflow.
Both Fox and Pereyra argue that education and awareness could allay fears related to AI. Understanding the benefits of AI can help people realize its potential. For them, trepidation hinders innovation.
Business owners and employees have a right to feel intimidated by AI. Many questions have no answers. Will people start losing their jobs to these AI systems? If so, when? And is placing restrictions on AI usage a necessary safeguard?
While concerns about job losses and ethical implications remain, Fox emphasizes a proactive mindset: “How can I leverage AI to my advantage?” Perhaps industries should adopt this carpe diem approach, leveraging AI’s ability to tackle menial tasks.
However, prudence is wisdom. There is a path by which the American worker can embrace the usefulness of AI in its current state, while remaining skeptical of an uncertain future. Perhaps at this historical moment, a balanced approach is most justified.
