Good Question: What jobs won’t be taken by AI?

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - For today’s Good Question, Sean asks: What jobs won’t be taken by AI?

In the immediate future, the jobs least likely to be replaced by artificial intelligence fall into a few categories.

The first is healthcare. Both the US Career Institute and Forbes rank registered nurses and nurse practitioners near the top of their lists of safe jobs. Mental health counselors, physician assistants and paramedics also rank pretty highly.

Another group includes skilled trades. Think plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and HVAC technicians. All jobs that require problem solving on site and the know-how to implement those solutions.

Creative endeavors are also ranked highly. Think choreographers, musicians, and writers. There are efforts to use AI to replicate some of these, but so far, they haven’t been able to match what a human can do.

Teachers, coaches, and instructors also count as the kind of jobs people would prefer a human do. An AI can present information, but that’s not the same as teaching.

Finally, Forbes also lists jobs in AI, such as machine learning engineers, software developers, and data scientists, as being safe because they will be in high demand as AI continues to grow.

As for jobs most at risk, two big ones are repetitive factory jobs that can be done by a machine, and some customer service jobs.

If you’ve ever ordered food online or through an app, you’ve already bypassed the person who used to answer the phone and take your order. We’ve even seen AI begin to be used at drive-throughs to take customers’ orders.

If you have a Good Question you’d like us to try to answer, send it to goodquestion@wkyt.com.