McCarron: Is AI Coming For Your Job?

If your job is mostly using a computer and attending — not leading — a lot of meetings with a large number of people in them, artificial intelligence (AI) is coming for your job first. If you work for a larger-than-most company, the handwriting is already on the wall — written in code.

AI is a computer science that attempts to simulate human thinking. It uses patterns and historical examples to draw conclusions. It is — or will shortly be — much faster and able to comprehend more variables than humans, all by itself.

Large companies are already laying off thousands of people due to AI, trying to blunt the news. Make no mistake about it, the closer you work on a computer, with a computer and around a computer — and the larger your current employer is — the sooner you’re going to be laid off. This isn’t fearmongering. It’s a warning.

If you rely on a computer for work and not the other way around, a computer is going to find very little use for you fairly soon. How many meetings take place in corporate America with more than 10 people and at the end of the meeting, everyone ends up logging into their devices and completing their tasks? “A lot of them” is a fair answer. How many meetings could have been a simple email? Same answer.

What jobs are safe from AI? The ones that require guiding people in decision-making. Humans do not want to talk to computers — not yet, at least. Humans need the empathetic connection of another human to help them navigate the emotional side of decisions and work through big, strong, negative emotions derived from affordability concerns, time constraints and juggling priorities. Humans need advice. Computers can tell you what your options are, but they can’t connect to your emotional intelligence.

Another place where jobs are safe? Humans who think with their hands and their brains. Take the idea of a robot performing a task as complicated as an oil change. Sure, technology could advance to where an oil change is comprised of a self-contained sealed box. The old oil and filter are simply removed like a pail of water and replaced with fresh ingredients. Maybe lubrication itself changes so dramatically that it renders changing oil obsolete? Those fantasies are a long way away from mass market vehicles.

Should you be worried? No — not if you enjoy your job. The very definition of a good employee is one who has a positive attitude toward their work first. Then we assess their skills. Attitude is a fixed asset. It does not change, save for an internal reprogramming of the person themselves. Attitude is a function of internal thinking and values, based on the external environment. That’s a fancy way of saying “Do they like being here or not?” Paycheck increases don’t change attitudes — ever.

What does the future hold for independent tire dealers as it pertains to AI? Fewer employees at the counter, for sure, but that’s because data entry to build and estimate tickets is the largest human and time resource waste in a shop. But the conversation at the hand-off of the diagnosis from technician to advisor in order to build a job estimate is massively complex, from a systems point of view. Nonetheless, the data entry part of the job is going to have to go away. The hunt and peck to find the right part, at the right local inventory, at the right price, will be automated, for better or for worse. It’s not worth paying an expert in human-to-human communication to scavenge the internet for five minutes to find a $100 part. Computers are already faster. Soon, they won’t need a human to click “save” and transfer to ticket. Current AI programs can already do this. Humans just need to check for errors.

The good news? The human factor in tire and automotive repair isn’t going away anytime soon. Those skilled in repairing a vehicle and those skilled in communicating with customers — specifically across the emotional spectrum of communication — are and will be in high demand. Mid-grade advisors who rely on good/better/best or the old school “ask three times” technique will find themselves obsolete. A computer screen can replicate those things easily. The tire dealership of tomorrow will have both humans and touch screens — less of one, more of the other.

Current claims of AI integration are premature on the front end of customer service. But when it hits, the implementation will be faster and more severe than any other paradigm-changing event in our industry. Traditionally, we’ve been slow to adapt to change. Actual AI implementation won’t allow for that. The key will be how and where you implement it — not if you do. For those of you still using paper ticketing, the next two years are going to be an expensive lesson.