A Nobel Prize-winning labor market economist has cautioned young people against piling into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects, saying “empathetic” and creative skills might thrive in a world dominated by artificial intelligence (AI).
Christopher Pissarides, professor of economics at the London School of Economics, said that workers in certain information technology (IT) jobs risk sowing their “own seeds of self-destruction” by advancing AI that would eventually take the same jobs.
While Pissarides said he is an optimist on AI’s overall effect on the jobs market, he raised concerns for those taking STEM subjects hoping to ride the coattails of the technological advances.
Photo: AFP
Despite rapid growth in the demand for STEM proficiency, jobs requiring more traditional face-to-face skills, such as in hospitality and healthcare, would still dominate the jobs market, he said.
“The skills that are needed now — to collect the data, collate it, develop it and use it to develop the next phase of AI, or, more to the point, make AI more applicable for jobs — will make the skills that are needed now obsolete because it will be doing the job,” he said in an interview. “Despite the fact that you see growth, they’re still not as numerous as might be required to have jobs for all those graduates coming out with STEM because that’s what they want to do.”
“This demand for these new IT skills, they contain their own seeds of self destruction,” he added.
The popularity of STEM subjects has boomed in the past few years as students seek to make themselves more employable, but The rapid rise of AI could transform the labor market, making some tasks and roles obsolete.
However, in the long-term, managerial, creative and empathetic skills, including communications, customer services and healthcare, would likely remain high in demand as they are less replaceable by technology, particularly AI.
“When you say the majority of jobs will be jobs that will involve personal care, communication, good social relationships, people might say: ‘Oh, God, is that what we have to look forward to in the future?’” Pissarides said. “We shouldn’t be looking down at these jobs. They’re better than the jobs that school leavers used to do.”
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
Nintendo Co hopes to match the runaway success of the Switch when its leveled-up new console hits shelves on Thursday, with strong early sales expected despite the gadget’s high price. Featuring a bigger screen and more processing power, the Switch 2 is an upgrade to its predecessor, which has sold 152 million units since launching in 2017 — making it the third-best-selling video game console of all time. However, despite buzz among fans and robust demand for pre-orders, headwinds for Nintendo include uncertainty over US trade tariffs and whether enough people are willing to shell out. The Switch 2 “is priced relatively high”
Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designer specializing in artificial-intelligence (AI) chips, yesterday said that small-volume production of 3-nanometer (nm) chips for a key customer is on track to start by the end of this year, dismissing speculation about delays in producing advanced chips. As Alchip is transitioning from 7-nanometer and 5-nanometer process technology to 3 nanometers, investors and shareholders have been closely monitoring whether the company is navigating through such transition smoothly. “We are proceeding well in [building] this generation [of chips]. It appears to me that no revision will be required. We have achieved success in designing