As artificial intelligence transforms society at large, what effects are expected in Charlotte specifically? To get a better idea, all this week the Charlotte Ledger business newsletter is looking at the impact of AI in our region. For more, the Ledger’s executive editor, Tony Mecia, joined WFAE’s Marshall Terry for our segment BizWorthy.
Marshall Terry: Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind is jobs. Which workers and industries in Charlotte are most likely to be affected?
Tony Mecia: There was a study that Tufts University released a couple of weeks ago, looking at what kind of jobs there are by metro area and then which ones are the most vulnerable. The ones that it identified in the Charlotte region as being potentially the biggest job loss categories were occupations like software developers, customer service representatives, sales representatives, market research analysts, and marketing specialists, as well as computer systems analysts. There were also jobs, though, that were seen as more impervious to AI. Mining, mining equipment operators, as well as hospital orderlies. Now Charlotte has a lot more software developers and customer service representatives than it does miners, but Charlotte's fairly middle of the pack in terms of its exposure to AI.
Terry: We’re just a few weeks away from college graduation, and I’m sure students are thinking about this. How is AI affecting those folks just entering the workforce?
Mecia: We went out and we talked to people in college career centers and students. While the unemployment rate for people aged 16 to 24 is about double that of the overall unemployment rate, it's kind of been like that for a while. What they're saying is that there are still entry-level jobs, but the nature of those jobs might change. They might become a little more dependent on being comfortable or familiar with technology. It is getting harder, they said, it seems to find some of these entry-level jobs, but it's not clear whether that's entirely because of AI or because of other things going on in the workforce.
Terry: What can people do to ensure they’re AI-proof? Anything?
Mecia: Experts we talked to said you probably want to brush up on these skills and become familiar with what these technologies can do, because it might be the case that down the road, what could set you apart is your ability to use some of these tools if you're going up against someone for a job that isn't that familiar with them.
The second point, look at some of those careers that maybe rely on human interaction a little bit more. Things like providing healthcare, skilled trades, construction. And then the third part is kind of just being human, leaning into some of the soft skills, things like leadership, communication, being able to carry on a conversation with other people. Those are things that are kind of hard to replace. Those maybe don’t make you completely bulletproof from AI, but maybe they can help you down the road.
Terry: Before I let you go, I do want to quickly ask about the announcement this week that 2,000 human jobs are coming to Charlotte as part of a new bank headquarters. What can you tell us?
Mecia: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, or SMBC, which is a large Japanese bank, is going to create about 2,000 jobs here in Charlotte over the next five or six years. They're calling it their second headquarters. They have U.S. headquarters in New York, but it's thought that a lot of those jobs from New York could be moving down here and then also that they're going to be hiring across a variety of roles. A $165,000 average salary. This really sort of bolsters Charlotte as a financial center. A lot of the recent job announcements in Charlotte have been in financial services or insurance. Certainly a big, big jobs announcement for Charlotte, one of the biggest in the last few years.
Support for BizWorthy comes from the law office of Robertson & Associates.
