[Namsan Ddalggakbari] Jobs Do Not Decrease, They Only Increase

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] No one can predict their own future 10 years from now. Especially in today's difficult economic situation, hardly anyone would have a positive outlook on their job prospects a decade ahead.

However, Dr. Choi Yoon-sik, author of Your Next 10 Years: A Futurist's Insight on Jobs, asserts, "The number of jobs does not decrease. New jobs created by new technologies increase." This positive prediction from the author, unlike anything seen before, is intriguing.

Can we trust this? Dr. Choi Yoon-sik is called "Asia's leading professional futurist" and has studied futures studies, business administration, philosophy, ethics, and theology. He graduated from the prestigious futures studies program at the University of Houston in the U.S. and learned from global futurist masters such as Christopher Jones, former Secretary-General of the World Futures Studies Federation; Peter Bishop, founding director of the World Futures Studies Federation; and Wendy Schultz, former president of the World Association of Professional Futurists.

The author surprised many by predicting a strong recovery and new renaissance of the U.S. economy when the 2008 global financial crisis sparked talk of America's decline. He also accurately forecasted the U.S.-China trade war and the major crash of the U.S. stock market in 2020. He impressed Korean leaders by predicting various future crisis possibilities in Asia, including crises in Korean companies, Korea's long-term economic stagnation, and China's financial crisis.

This author presents a different argument from existing theories. "The media often reports that new technologies like artificial intelligence or autonomous vehicles will immediately eliminate your job, but that is not the case. While theoretically possible, reality is different."

If jobs disappear or professions change, the main causes in the short term are changes in the economy and global competitive structure. Changes in technology and demographics influence jobs and professions in the long term. However, the author argues that it is unlikely that jobs or professions will disappear on a massive scale within a few years.

The speed and scope of AI destroying human jobs will be regulated or limited by new laws and institutional safeguards, discussions on the need for time to resolve side effects of new technologies, and human resistance or appropriate responses will also proceed. Therefore, the author reasons that large-scale disappearance of human jobs due to new technologies will take longer than expected.

The author presents five key keywords for predicting future jobs and professions: "growth," "movement," "disappearance," "creation," and "change." Jobs may appear to decrease but actually "grow," and the regions where jobs increase "move." Considering the flow of cultural influence and economic power, the main stage of the 21st century will shift to Asia, and the places where jobs increase will also undergo a major shift from the real world to the "virtual."

Along with this major shift, some professions will "disappear." However, the "creation" of new professions will occur simultaneously. When AI is installed in factory machines, humans lose physical labor jobs. But as machines take over dangerous tasks, humans can challenge more creative work. Therefore, the author predicts that in the future, people who understand human inner nature and can effectively convey stories will have more opportunities.

There will also be "changes" in how and where people work. Remote workplaces, remote workers, globally distributed teams, boundaryless and powerful collaboration, and fast, flexible organizations will become the mainstream of future workplaces. The purpose of work will shift from earning money to creating meaning as a cultural act, according to the author.

In the future, platform workers who decide their own employment hours and forms, high-level freelancers, and virtual workers will rise, repeatedly gathering and dispersing like making a movie, the author claims.

An interesting point is that just as machines eliminate human jobs, humans also eliminate machine jobs. The author's logic is that "future humans will rapidly upgrade their brains and physical strength with the help of new technologies to quickly learn skilled techniques."

In future society, the people who survive the longest and hold the greatest wealth and power will be determined by their "level of insight." Therefore, the author emphasizes, "You must practice patterning, generalizing, and abstracting to develop a brain capable of insight."

He also states, "Instead of foreign language skills, prepare for the future by enhancing machine language skills; instead of memory, increase creativity," and asserts, "As the validity period of knowledge shortens, lifelong education becomes not a choice but a necessity." Although jobs will increase, to secure good jobs, one must develop "insight" rather than foreign language skills.

Your Next 10 Years: A Futurist's Insight on Jobs, by Choi Yoon-sik, Kim Young-sa, 16,500 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.