Article by Olha Slobodianiuk, BuzzStaff Writer
Photo Courtesy of Forbes
AI is becoming a bigger part of everyday life, including the workplace. For St. Ambrose students preparing to enter the job market, that raises an important question: Will AI change the careers they are working toward? While some students may be concerned about the technology replacing jobs, many students say they aren’t too worried that AI will threaten their future careers.
Many say they do not expect AI to replace the work they plan to do, although they recognize that it could become a useful tool in their field. For example, in health care, some doctors already use AI to help detect diseases such as lung and pancreatic cancer in their early stages.
Freshman exercise science major Eden Leise says it could help her in her daily job. “I think taking notes while evaluating the patient will be a lot different with AI. I think it’ll make it a lot easier and less time-consuming.”
When asked if they have a backup plan in case AI drastically changes the career they’re pursuing, Leise jokes, “I would probably start working for the AI company then.”
Other science students shared similar views, suggesting the human side of their work is something AI cannot easily replace. Rather than viewing AI as a threat, they recognize it as a technology they may eventually need to learn to use.
Psychology freshman Avaree Smith adds, “A robot is probably going to be a little intimidating to kids.”
This perspective extends to liberal arts majors. Marketing sophomore Julianna DiMaria says she is not particularly worried about AI changing her future career. “AI can’t take over a whole department … you can’t have AI check everything itself, because if they make a mistake, there is no one to fall back on.”
However, artificial intelligence creates other concerns for students. Some worry people could rely on it too much and lose some of the human connection that comes from doing things themselves.
Political science and international studies junior Jack Breaky says, “AI is removing human from human, and that’s a problem. If it does that and we are in a situation where everybody needs to talk to Claude or ChatGPT to decide what they are going to do tomorrow, that’s a problem.”
Students say they’re also concerned AI can make mistakes. Mechanical engineering and graphic design junior Emma Perez says, “I feel like it makes the engineering world a little more scary, because there are gonna be some people…building a bridge and using AI to help calculate the thing, there can be an error, and I think that’s a scary thought.”
Although artificial intelligence can make work easier, it also brings some concerns. SAU students recognize that the technology can make mistakes and that relying on it too much could take away from human skills and connections. Still, SAU students do not seem to view these concerns as a reason to change their career plans.
For more on students use of AI, in Buzz writer George Coins first installment of his four-part series “AI at Ambrose”, George looks at how students use AI in their classes and what they believe crosses the line into cheating.
