Story: Dr. Tran Tho Dat

The fear of unemployment has never been so palpable among workers, even white-collar employees, whose jobs are the most admired by society.

A recent study by OpenAI, the developer of the famous ChatGPT, looked into the potential of automation across 1,016 different jobs and showed that it can automate around 19,000 tasks in different fields. In another study, experts with OpenAI and the University of Pennsylvania indicated that large language models such as GPT could impact 80% of the workforce in the United States. Specifically, the researchers found that AI models like GPT-4 and other predictive software tools would significantly influence 19% of all employment, replacing at least 50% of human tasks.

Dr. Tran Tho Dat is a leading economic expert who has extensively researched the impacts of education and human capital on economic growth, climate change economics, environmental economics, the digital economy, etc. He is a former economic advisor to the Prime Minister and the Principal of the National Economics University (Hanoi).

Unlike previous automation waves, the brunt of this impact will be felt by white-collar workers rather than blue-collar ones. Some of the most vulnerable jobs include writing, web and digital design, quantitative financial analysis, and even blockchain engineering. Creative AI tools have advanced significantly in creating human-like language and developing contextual awareness to the point where they can surpass humans in various tasks. According to Goldman Sachs, this could cause the loss of 300 million jobs worldwide.

The impact of ChatGPT is being felt most keenly in customer service. With the nonstop support of chatbots, businesses can cost-effectively assist customers 24/7. In addition, chatbots with batch processing capabilities can reduce waiting time and increase customer satisfaction. In short, ChatGPT streamlines the customer journey to make it faster and more efficient.

Creative content is another place where ChatGPT will have a huge influence. Given a massive data platform, ChatGPT can generate human-like texts, becoming a powerful tool to write speeches, essays, and newspaper articles. In fact, many media agencies may employ ChatGPT to generate timely and updated articles, saving both time and resources. Businesses may use ChatGPT to create marketing materials or product descriptions, reducing time and fundamentally changing the content creation process towards higher speed and efficiency.

This new wave of automation will especially impact white-collar workers

The heavy impact of ChatGPT on education has forced educational institutions to adapt accordingly. Students can now get effective and personalized instructions from chatbots to solve questions and perform exercises. Learners’ personal needs may be fulfilled much faster. Teachers can provide students with personalized materials, revolutionizing the approach to education. Moreover, chatbots can be used to automate administrative tasks such as grading and checking attendance, allowing more time for teaching, interacting, and creating.

ChatGPT will also revolutionize patient care. Chatbots will inform patients about their condition and the best treatment options, allowing doctors to focus on treatment by reducing their diagnostic efforts. Chatbots will also be used to monitor patients’ status, remind them to take medication, confirm meeting schedules, improve treatment results, and reduce medical errors. This should make healthcare more effective and accessible.

In language learning, ChatGPT can provide immediate feedback on learners’ pronunciation and grammar. Chatbots can be designed to understand natural language and provide personalized feedback based on learners’ needs and preferences. This technology may create a revolution in the field of foreign language learning in Vietnam, particularly for those who can’t afford formal education.

In the financial sector, ChatGPT is currently used to automate daily tasks such as account management and fraud detection. Similarly, ChatGPT supports document processing and contract analysis, reducing the workload, and improving the accuracy and operational effectiveness of law consulting firms. Transportation companies can enhance their operations by using ChatGPT to automate day-to-day tasks such as orchestration and scheduling.

AI and ChatGPT also have many applications in various other fields. However, the rapid development of these tools has raised concerns about job replacement, leading to massive unemployment and socio-economic unrest as chatbots become “smarter”.

There are also worries that ChatGPT may be trained to create fake news and disinformation, causing ethical and legal complications. In fact, when at a loss for words, chatbots tend to lie.

Furthermore, despite their task-processing efficiency, chatbots don’t have the emotional intelligence and creativity required in many fields of work. The “creative” output that chatbots can generate is based on a combination of data trawled off the Internet, giving rise to many problems including accuracy, privacy, and intellectual property. This means that AI tools still need a human factor.

To address these concerns, the most important thing is to develop ChatGPT as a tool for people instead of their replacement, helping increase productivity and efficiency. There must always be human supervision and quality control to ensure that chatbots provide the correct information and comply with moral standards. And that is the “new continent” that will create more jobs.

Thus, there is no need for intense fear of this wave of automation, as it can help ease workloads and increase productivity, serving as a meaningful tool for advanced markets facing labor scarcity.

Another study published by Goldman Sachs on April 05, 2023, showed that despite numerous concerns, AI could also help increase global GDP by 7% in the next decade.