by Karen Juanita Carrillo
New York Amsterdam News
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is as much of a buzzword as it is an enigma to many as it finds its way into everyone’s daily lives. While its defenders tout the many uses for it, others fear that it may supplant workers in the near future—and that is significant for African Americans who may be affected.
Many Black workers hold roles in jobs that could be under threat because of AI tools, according to organizations such as the National Urban League (NUL) and the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. They say, in two separate reports, that it is imperative for African Americans to gain new skillsets that align with coming workplace automation changes.
“Black workers are increasingly overrepresented in four of the top five occupations at risk of automation: office support, production work, food services, and mechanical installation and repair,” the McKinsey report states. “If reskilling efforts are not undertaken, this trend only stands to worsen. According to our analysis of 2022 data, some 24 percent of all Black workers are in occupations with greater than 75 percent automation potential, compared with just 20 percent of White workers.”
About 91 percent of the Black community owns smartphones, and Black millennials and Gen Zers are prominently creating digital content, but Black households are less likely to have internet access, and African Americans remain underrepresented in technology-related jobs, the National Urban League noted. “African Americans are far less likely than Whites to be employed in social media and technology companies—less than 5 percent of the workforce, vs. more than 50 percent for Whites. Less than 6 percent of total Black employment in 2017 was in the tech industry, vs. 8.5 percent for Whites,” NUL points out.
This lack of technology access may affect Black employment opportunities in the future. Microsoft researchers believe AI and familiarity with technology could have a significant impact on certain employment sectors.
The technology corporation’s report, “Working with AI: Measuring the Occupational Implications of Generative AI,” identifies approximately 40 jobs that researchers believe AI programs, like their Copilot tool, might be able to replace human workers in doing.
“Interpreters and Translators are at the top of the list, with 98 percent of their work activities overlapping with frequent Copilot tasks with fairly high completion rates and scope scores,” the report states. “Other occupations with high applicability scores include those related to writing/editing, sales, customer service, programming, and clerking. Along with Interpreters
and Translators, there are myriad other knowledge work occupations such as Historians, Writers and Authors, CNC Tool Programmers, Brokerage Clerks, Political Scientists, Reporters and Journalists, Mathematicians, Proofreaders, Editors, PR Specialists, etc.”
The report says that jobs involving physical interaction with others or manual labor are expected to be the least affected by AI. Nursing assistants, massage therapists, and roles related to operating or monitoring machinery, such as water treatment plant operators, pile driver operators, truck and tractor operators, dishwashers, roofers, and maids, are mostly safe from being overtaken by AI, even though certain tasks used in those professions might also begin using AI applications.
Microsoft’s list of vulnerable careers has sparked both concern and bemusement. While the report does not predict mass unemployment, it notes concerns about AI replacing human expertise in knowledge-based jobs, such as those performed by historians, office administrators, and some tech workers.
AI has the potential to widen racial wealth disparities by $43 billion annually, the McKinsey report pointed out. However, if Black workers stay informed about the industries where AI is advancing, they can find ways to use AI to enhance their career growth. Acquiring skills such as coding, as well as other skills that would still require a human touch and still work within the framework of automation, would allow an easier transition to future employment opportunities. According to the report, eight areas are the most ripe for this kind of connection with Black workers: financial inclusion, credit and ecosystem development for small businesses, health, workforce and jobs, pre-K–12 education, the digital divide, affordable housing, and public infrastructure. “When gen AI meets these eight pillars, there’s potential for profoundly different levels of impact — both positive and negative — depending on how gen AI tools are trained, designed, adopted, and used,” said the McKinsey report.