ChatGPT researchers warn AI tool will replace some jobs

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Artificial intelligence experts are warning that all of us will have to grapple with AI – if not now, then in the near future.

AI will continue to change our economy, according to those who study it. Many jobs will change. Some will disappear, including in New Mexico. 

ChatGPT is a new AI tool that is at the center of many of these predictions. It’s a chatbot. It finds solutions to problems, and it can write like humans do. 

“It’s literally starting to think like a human being,” Thomas Fellows said. He’s an author and ChatGPT researcher based in Houston. 

“Words have basically become data, and that’s why it’s so powerful,” Fellows said. 

He says it’s already significantly impacting many jobs. It’s doing tasks like writing legal briefs. 

“It can now send an email that’s polite but firm at the same time,” he said. 

People are using it to improve their work or save themselves time. Fellows believes it may replace many jobs in just a few years. 

“It will be severe,” he said. “This will be a new economy for sure.” 

Customer service jobs are in jeopardy, he says, as AI could be answering a customer’s questions, for example. 

That would impact New Mexico, as 11% of our workforce is in hospitality. Jobs on the chopping block could also include tech jobs like those in coding. 

“And that’s scary Tommy, because that’s supposed to be a job of the future,” Fellows said. 

Some estimates say millions of jobs will disappear. Others who study the economy believe the changes will happen more slowly. That includes University of New Mexico Finance Professor Reilly White. 

“We’re at what we call an ‘ah-ha’ moment,” White said. “This is an important moment.”

White thinks losing jobs will not happen overnight.

“The job market effects are gradual,” he said. “It takes time. What happens is usually these employers are looking at this and saying, ‘I’m going to restructure my organization. I’m going to not hire back in a recession. I’m going to change the way I do things.’” 

Fellows says there are a few important qualities that workers will want to have in order to stay relevant:

• Thinking outside the box
• Creativity
• Human judgment
• Emotional intelligence 

AI may impact the researchers in New Mexico. 

A spokesperson for Sandia Labs says they are “exploring the possibility” of using ChatGPT, and there is “tremendous potential,” but they say there are also serious questions about the risk of “exposing protected national security information.” 

KOB 4 staff members spend a lot of time writing each day. The station’s parent company is among those who have banned AI like ChatGPT, as the company wants to maintain the integrity of the news it delivers.