Andrew Ng, one of the most influential voices in the development of artificial intelligence, believes that the current impact of this technology on employment is especially uncertain.
It is important to mention that it does not refer to a specific crisis or a specific sector, but rather speaks of a widespread perception that affects very different profiles.
And in recent years, AI has gone from being a technology in development to becoming a tool integrated into daily workso the change is rapid, and that pace is what generates the most doubts.
A different fear from other technological cycles
The fear that Andrew Ng describes is not the classic «a machine is going to take my job,» but rather something more diffuse in all senses of the word.
It is about the fear of not understanding what we will be working on in a few years, especially because AI is infiltrating decision processes, data analysis, writing, support and task automation, without the labor system yet having clear rules.
For many professionals, artificial intelligence heralds not just a change in tools, but a transformation of how work is valued, when it is relevant, and what kinds of skills will continue to serve.
Ng points out that he has never seen such a widespread level of insecurity in conversations with professionals from different sectors.
And this discomfort is not only among programmers or data scientists, but also among writers, analysts, support managers, designers and many more.
The common denominator is the same: the fear is not so much of artificial intelligence, but of being left out of the way AI is reshaping work.
What work looks like from Andrew Ng’s AI
Andrew Ng’s proposal does not involve announcing which positions will disappear, but rather looking at employment from the logic of tasks.
That is, it starts from the diagnosis that many of the responsibilities that the individual assumes today can be classified into two large blocks:
1. Repetitive, routine or data preparation tasks that lend themselves to automation.
2. Tasks that require judgment, interpretation, coordination, negotiation and process design, which benefit from AI as an ally.
Instead of worrying only about the job title, the expert encourages you to ask yourself what percentage of each job can be delegated to AI (summaries, first drafts, data analysis, idea generation, searches, etc.).
Likewise, what part is gained in value when the person focuses on managing, validating and directing those results. Fear, in that sense, becomes an indicator of where to start changing things.
Given all this, the expert proposes the concept «AI enhancer», which is not a model specialist or an algorithm programmer, but rather someone who understands what AI can do, what it cannot do at all, and how to combine both.
That profile is not only limited to using chatbots or language models, but to orchestrating them within real workflows, monitoring their outputs, adjusting their instructions and correcting their errors.
A fear that can better return to work
The fact that the future feels less certain today than in other technological moments can be read as a sign that work needs to readjust, and that the anticipating professional will have more room for maneuver.
It should be noted that the real danger is not the AI, but standing still while the environment transforms. In this context, the expert’s statement functions as a call for individual responsibility.
Becoming an AI enhancer does not mean becoming an AI expert, but rather learning to manage it, integrate it into your own workflow and use it to gain efficiency, not to lose relevance.
The future of work will continue to feel uncertainbut that same discomfort can be the starting point to redefine what is done, how it is done and why it continues to be indispensable.