Former President Barack Obama spoke about the future of human jobs as he feels artificial intelligence (AI) is outperforming human coding efforts, People of Color in Tech reports.
While participating in the Sacerdote Great Names Series at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, America’s former president spoke about how many roles will potentially be eliminated — and no longer essential — due to the effectiveness of AI, claiming the software codes 60% to 70% better than humans.
“Already the current models of AI, not necessarily the ones that you purchase or that you just get through the retail ChatGPT, but the more advanced models that are available now to companies, they can code better than let’s call it 60%, 70% of coders now,” the former president told Hamilton’s President Steven Tepper.
“We’re talking highly skilled jobs that pay really good salaries and that, up until recently, have been entirely a seller’s market in Silicon Valley. A lot of that work is going to go away. The best coders will be able to use these tools to augment what they already do, but for a lot of routine stuff, you just won’t need a coder because the computer or the machine will do it itself. That’s going to duplicate itself across professions.”
Obama isn’t the only celebrity who has highlighted the importance of AI slowly but surely taking over. Through the Coramino Fund, an investment collaboration between comedian Kevin Hart and Juan Domingo Beckmann’s Gran Coramino Tequila, entrepreneurs and small businesses from underresourced communities were encouraged to apply for its $10,000 grant program. While first-round applications closed on April 23, 50 firms will not only receive capital to expand but also receive “cutting-edge AI technological training and hands-on learning to responsibly and effectively incorporate into their operations,” according to Fortune.
Hart says business owners must leap on the opportunity and education.
“The train is coming and coming fast,” he said. “Either you’re on it, or if not, get out of the way.”
Data and research are also supporting Hart and Obama’s viewpoints, and people of color could be affected the most as it grows more popular in the workplace. After reviewing data from the U.S. Census, researchers at Michigan State University’s Julian Samora Research Institute found that Hispanic-owned companies reported nearly 9% of AI adoption and Asian-owned firms used roughly 11%. Nearly 78% of white-owned companies reported high use of the technology.
Black-owned companies ranked last, with the lowest AI usage across the board in 2023, with fewer than 2% of businesses reporting “high use.”
A report from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), revealed that the state’s Latinx AI employees are at high risk of losing their jobs due to automation and the increased use of technology that performs repetitive tasks without human involvement.
Data from the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility indicates that the AI divide could widen the racial wealth gap by $43 million annually.
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