Back in Colonial America, agriculture was the primary occupation for about 90% of the population (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_agriculture_in_the_United_States). But today, due to increased efficiency and other opportunities, less than two percent of the population is directly involved in farming. (https://www.google.com/search?q=percentage+of+people+in+agriculture+in+usa&sca_esv). And yet, despite the historic ‘loss’ of all those jobs, today’s unemployment rate has been consistently below five percent.
I thought of this when I ran across an article in The New York Times Magazine: “A.I. Might Take Your Job. Here Are 22 New Ones It Could Give You.”
Technology is always remaking our economy. Is that a problem? Not when new jobs are also being created. We don’t need all those agriculture workers due to mechanization (along with other advances). But somebody has to build and maintain the farm implements.
Similarly, there is a lot of fear about job upheavals due to A.I. I predict many of those fears will turn out to be well founded. But think about the flip side — which new jobs will be created? Peering into TNYTM’s crystal ball, here are some details.
The article, written by Robert Capps, sees three major areas where he thinks humans either are, or will soon be, more necessary than ever: trust, integration and taste
Trust — How will we know if A.I. output correct? As a first step, Professor Robert Seamans at New York University’s Stern School of Business, who studies A.I., thinks we’ll need a new set of roles he calls A.I. auditors — people who investigate to understand what A.I. is doing and why, and can then document the findings for technical, explanatory or liability purposes. That’s just for starters. Then we’ll probably need translators, ethicists, coordinators… well, you get the idea.
Integration — Working with A.I. will get pretty complex and technical. Someone who really understands the process and can match that knowledge with needs will be in high demand. Professor Seamans calls this group the A.I. integrators: experts who figure out how to best use and execute the output. That will most likely lead to other specialists.
Taste — Somebody has to tell A.I. what’s expected. But the first step is deciding what we expect. Understanding that there is no limit to creativity, those choices could come down to taste. So people who can make stylish choices will be a prized commodity. The resulting jobs will have titles like product designer, world designer, even differentiation designer.
The only certainty is there will be jobs. For more detail, access the complete article here (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/magazine/ai-new-jobs.html?).