The majority of research on artificial intelligence (AI) and its effect on work estimates that AI will have the greatest effect on college-educated workers and those with high incomes. Relatedly, there has been intense media attention on AI and its supposed negative effect on the job market for recent college graduates.
While AI will certainly affect white collar jobs to some degree, recent Dallas Fed research emphasizes that AI can either help or replace workers depending on the nuance of their occupations. But how might AI affect so-called good jobs, those that don’t require bachelor’s degrees but still pay self-sustaining wages?[1]
For people without four-year degrees, good jobs can be a path toward economic mobility and financial security. For this reason, these jobs are often targeted occupations of job training and career readiness programs. How should those seeking these good jobs think about AI and ready themselves for any changes to these jobs?
Comparing these jobs with the skills and work activities most exposed to AI can identify which jobs might see the most change. Jobs that involve writing, gathering information and computer programming are more exposed to AI change, while jobs that involve operating machinery or jobs in the trades tend to be less exposed.
It’s important to emphasize that AI-prompted change can be positive or negative for the worker, depending on how the change impacts the job. And one set of skills seems so far impervious to AI: soft skills, which are important for all good jobs.
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