Panel Discussion: AI and the Future of Work

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Moderator: Let's turn to the question everyone's asking: will AI take our jobs? Dr. Okafor, you've studied previous waves of automation. Okafor: I have, and I'd caution against both panic and complacency. Historically, technology has destroyed specific tasks far more often than entire occupations. Bank tellers are the classic example: cash machines were supposed to eliminate them, yet teller numbers actually grew for years, because branches became cheaper to open. The job changed — less counting cash, more selling services. Moderator: Ms. Lindqvist, you run a translation company. Is that reassuring? Lindqvist: Up to a point. I'd love to share Dr. Okafor's optimism, but the historical analogy may flatter us. Cash machines automated one narrow task; these systems are general-purpose. In my own firm, the volume of routine translation we do has fallen sharply. What's grown is editing, cultural consulting and legal certification — but those jobs require years of experience, and I honestly don't know how the next generation will get that experience if the entry-level work disappears.