How to know if AI will take your job

This is a common question with a variety of answers. To help simplify, I’ve created a 2×2 matrix to categorize the work that you do so you. This way you can better determine if you should worry about what AI can do.

Tada! The Trust Insights “Will AI take my job?” matrix!

Ok, the name needs work. That’s not important right now.

To plot your tasks and understand if AI can do it versus a human, here is how you read the matrix. In the top-left quadrant, you have tasks that are highly repetitive and low on creative thinking. Those are the tasks that AI will be able to do and honestly, you should be happy to part with them. In the bottom-left quadrant are the tasks that are not repetitive but also not creative. AI will be able to handle these tasks as well, with some programming for the variations. In the top-right quadrant are your tasks that are highly repetitive but also highly creative. The more creative thinking that you need, the more that AI will struggle to replicate it, even if it’s repetitive. The bottom-right quadrant is where you hope a lot of your tasks will fall if you’re concerned. These are the less repetitive and highly creative tasks. These are the tasks that are most safe from AI.

Here is how you use this matrix to examine your own work. First, write down all the things you’re responsible for. This can be as simple as “check the dashboard for data anomalies” or as complex as “create a strategic plan for marketing”. For this exercise, start with one week’s worth of tasks.

My list might look something like this:

• Project manage weekly client deliverables
  Record Podcast
  Write newsletter open
  Update editorial calendar for next week
  Update marketing tracking sheet
  Interview manager candidates
  Write a sales pitch email
  Create a 2×2 matrix for newsletter post

My next step is to plot these tasks on the “Will AI take my job?” matrix. You can label each task as “High” and “Low” for Repeatability and Creativity. The next version of my list looks like this:

High – Repetitive / Low – Creative
Update marketing tracking sheet

Low – Repetitive / Low – Creative
Project manager weekly client deliverables

High – Repetitive / High – Creative
Update editorial calendar for next week
Record Podcast
Write newsletter open
Write a sales pitch email

Low – Repetitive / High – Creative
Create a 2×2 matrix for the newsletter
Interview manager candidates

When I look at my to-do list this way I can breathe easily. My job is safe from AI this week. There are a few tasks that AI could do, but most of the items need human intervention and creative thinking. Could I have AI write the newsletter? Sure. If I didn’t care too much about the quality. The same is true of a sales pitch. AI can write that for me, but it won’t necessarily be my tone, my humor. These are choices you can make about your own work and what you feel is best for your work output.

The next time you’re wondering if your job is safe from AI, or if there is an opportunity to introduce AI into your job, use this matrix to see where your tasks fall. You may be grateful to give up some items on your list so that you can refocus your energy on bigger value items.

Do you have questions about what tasks AI can do? Come find me in our Free Slack Group, Analytics for Marketers