Will AI take my job?

Retail, customer service, and contact centres – high automation potential

• Why
  Conversational AI and workflow automation can handle many standard queries.
• Shifts
  Fewer low‑complexity calls, more complex case handling and escalations. Store roles see task support, not full substitution.
• Risk level
  High for routine back‑office and first‑line roles. Medium in stores.

Manufacturing and logistics – medium, skewed to augmentation

• Why
  Physical tasks still need people, but AI improves planning, quality, and safety.
• Shifts
  Predictive maintenance, dynamic scheduling, vision‑based quality control, and co‑bots.
• Risk level
  Medium. More technicians and fewer purely manual roles over time.

Creative industries and media – high disruption, new niches

• Why
  Generative tools create drafts, assets, and variations at scale.
• Shifts
  Fewer routine production tasks, more emphasis on brand voice, curation, direction, and IP strategy.
• Risk level
  High disruption. Survivors lean into taste, trust, and distribution.

Public sector and regulation – medium, large support opportunity

• Why
  Heavy document and casework loads. Safeguards slow adoption but benefits are large.
• Shifts
  Drafting, summarisation, and eligibility support free capacity. More roles in assurance and audit.
• Risk level
  Medium. Big gains in throughput with careful governance.

Trades and hands‑on services – low to medium

• Why
  Physical dexterity, variable environments, and human interaction are hard to automate fully.
• Shifts
  AI helps with diagnostics, quoting, scheduling, and safety.
• Risk level
  Low to medium. Augmentation dominates.

What the data says

• Advanced economies see higher exposure because more jobs are cognitive.
• Clerical and routine digital tasks are most exposed.
• Job postings and pay dynamics are shifting in highly exposed occupations, but exposure does not equal elimination. Skills and complementary investment matter.

How to future‑proof yourself

1. Move up the task stack
   Focus on judgement, stakeholder management, and end‑to‑end ownership.
2. Learn to supervise AI
   Prompting is table stakes. Evaluation, verification, and safe deployment are where value sits.
3. Pick one domain tool
   Master an AI tool specific to your sector. Depth beats breadth.
4. Collect evidence
   Keep a portfolio of before‑after metrics showing the value you deliver with AI.
5. Build career options
   Cross‑train into roles adjacent to AI adoption: data stewardship, product ops, controls.

Conclusion

AI will not flatten the labour market in one sweep. It will change tasks first, then roles, then organisational shapes. Treat it like the spreadsheet moment for every knowledge job. Learn to use it, learn to supervise it, and aim for the parts of work that compound with experience.

Citations

1. IMF analysis of AI exposure by economy type and likely labour market effects, 2024. IMF
2. ILO working papers and 2025 update on generative AI occupational exposure, highlighting clerical task exposure. International Labour Organization+1
3. OECD Employment Outlook and skills reports on AI exposure and demand shifts, 2024. OECD+1
4. World Economic Forum Future of Jobs 2025, employer expectations and role trends. World Economic Forum+1
5. PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer, UK analysis on exposure and job posting dynamics. PwC
6. UK government research on sector exposure to AI and roles most affected. GOV.UK
7. Turing Institute and ONS study on generative AI support for public sector time by domain, 2025. The Alan Turing Institute
8. Reuters and sector reporting on corporate AI adoption impacts on productivity and workforce planning. Reuters

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