The emergence of generative AI has significantly impacted certain groups of people. This impacts engineers, researchers, and other highly skilled individuals. For example, in China, the use of image-generating AI has reduced illustrators’ salaries by one-tenth. Highly educated and highly skilled individuals previously enjoyed higher salaries. This trend is emerging, with higher-paying occupations becoming increasingly susceptible to AI automation. Among these, so-called blue-collar occupations are particularly vulnerable to AI. Most occupations considered less susceptible to AI involve manual labor.
Japan’s Haneda Airport has been named the “world’s cleanest airport” for two consecutive years. Approximately 500 blue-collar cleaners work at Haneda Airport every day. The cleaners behind one of the world’s most beautiful airports say cleaning Haneda Airport is an exciting job. Although cleaning can be broadly defined, there are many details to remember for each job site. Cleaners pull carts containing many different detergents and chemicals. They use different detergents and chemicals depending on the material—floors, glass, walls, mirrors, sanitary ware, etc.—and then consider how to do the job faster and safer, developing their own procedures. Considering the complex nature of cleaning work, it seems it will be some time before AI and robots can make inroads in the job.
Professor Osborne previously shocked the world by predicting that automation would be achieved through AI and robots. He cited social intelligence, such as manual dexterity, creativity, and communication skills, as key factors in this automation. However, even today, it is clear that AI and robots lack social intelligence, such as manual dexterity, creativity, and communication skills. While many construction site tasks were predicted to be automated, cost remains a barrier. Robots capable of automating tasks are currently extremely expensive. It has become clear that it is actually difficult for AI to simply perform tasks as humans do without thinking. Finding and retrieving things, skipping, and other tasks are easy for humans. Folding clothes, picking up food with chopsticks, and navigating a messy room are tasks that are extremely difficult for AI. With the advent of generative AI, it seems that the jobs that are least susceptible to AI impact are those that require precisely these abilities.
