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(Kirill Kudryavtsev\/AFP via Getty Images\/TNS)<\/p>\n
Kirill Kudryavtsev\/AFP\/TNS<\/p>\n
Trinity\u00a0Delacruz misses the old days, when she would write emails from scratch without AI input.<\/p>\n
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This summer, the recent grad is interning in the sales department at a North Texas cybersecurity company. She said AI has become difficult to avoid in her daily work, with transcription and summary agents popping up in meetings and inboxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do have to whip it into shape, to make sure my voice doesn\u2019t sound robotic,\u201d Delacruz said. She also said she\u2019s concerned about the effects of AI on the environment and critical thinking skills.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Delacruz majored in business administration with a marketing concentration \u2014 a career path she said colleagues have told her is \u201cdangerous\u201d to enter right now, given accelerated automation in digital marketing. Now, she\u2019s looking into field marketing, which involves more in-person interactions like pop-up product demonstrations at trade shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels a little better because you work with people,\u201d Delacruz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
About 1 in 5 jobs in the D-FW area are highly exposed to AI, according to a Dallas Morning News and Hearst Devhub analysis of employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a study by researchers from OpenAI and the University of Pennsylvania. As AI continues to reshape jobs, it\u2019s the human aspects of work that could become more important, workers, employers and experts said.<\/p>\n
Related: These D-FW jobs have the most AI exposure. How does your profession stack up?<\/a><\/p>\n Search how exposed your D-FW job is to AI<\/p>\n \u201cAs AI takes more automatable or technical tasks off our plate, we\u2019re going to be left doing those things that are best for humans to do: talking to one another, working with one another,\u201d said Anna Crockett, a senior advisor in Community Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n AIpocalypse? Too early to declare<\/p>\n While rapidly progressing capabilities of AI are likely broadening more fields to automation and sparking worry for workers, experts aren\u2019t seeing broad replacement so far, Crockett said.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of employers, companies, employees are all still feeling it out right now,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t say I\u2019ve seen any evidence of major, significant shifts as far as employment goes.\u201d<\/p>\n It will take time for clear trends to emerge from the data, she said. On the individual level, there may be AI-induced replacement taking place, and it\u2019s possible that in a few years, researchers might find AI did contribute to a \u201cGreat Replacement.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n There have been several high-profile mass layoffs in the technology sector this year, affecting thousands of workers across dozens of companies. Many commentators, as well as some company executives, have cited AI and new technologies as one of the driving factors.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But Sammy Abdullah, managing director at Dallas-based venture capital firm Blossom Street Ventures, cautioned against attributing these layoffs to AI. His firm focuses on enterprise-level AI software companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSoftware overhired in response to COVID,\u201d Abdullah said. \u201cIt\u2019s using AI as a shield to say, \u2018Aw, we\u2019re now letting go of a big chunk of our workforce because Claude is doing what they (could).\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Replacement vs. augmentation<\/p>\n Instead, Abdullah said AI can augment work \u2014 helping employees accomplish routine tasks more efficiently to free up time for more meaningful work.\u00a0<\/p>\n One local example is WhitegloveAI. Frisco\u2019s traffic department is currently testing one of the company\u2019s AI voice agents to eventually handle calls from the public. Founder Nick James said the tool could save Frisco traffic engineers about 20 hours a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWith our clients, it\u2019s typically and most likely always providing relief to their existing workforce,\u201d James said.\u00a0<\/p>\n That won\u2019t always be the case, James said, predicting that at some point, employees who don\u2019t know how to use AI to enhance their jobs will be replaced. He said in his hiring process, he\u2019s looking for new hires who can creatively integrate AI into their workflows. Candidates who perceive AI as a threat, on the other hand, are less likely to get the job.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n That could represent a growing sentiment among\u00a0D-FW employers. Across North Texas, more companies are planning to incorporate AI into their work, according to the Census Bureau\u2019s biweekly Business Trends and Outlook Survey. Less than 19% of respondents in November said they planned to use AI for business in the next six months. At the end of June, that number had grown to nearly 29%.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: Texas universities are offering AI degrees. Is it the answer for a changing workforce?<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Entering the AI-age job market<\/p>\n In Abdullah\u2019s view, AI\u2019s progress might be crowding out entry-level workers, since the technology is adept at automating many tasks usually assigned to younger employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey slowed down hiring, especially for the individual that required a lot of training, like new grads,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n As of March, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates ages 22 to 27 in the U.S. is 5.6%, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York<\/a>. That rate hasn\u2019t been that high since early 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Crockett said AI\u2019s role in current hiring conditions isn\u2019t so clear-cut. Even before new developments in AI tools and models, the job market has been \u201clow-hire, low-fire,\u201d she said. Some economists argue remote work<\/a> also plays a role.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In D-FW\u2019s tech sector, AI has impacted entry-level jobs in quality assurance, technical writing and user support the most, said Wendi Wilburn, president and CEO of Tech Titans. New technologies have led to both downsizing and changes in hiring and training.<\/p>\n