AI’s Effect on Employment

US. ECONOMISTS HAVE CHARACTERIZED THE LABOR MARKET HAS NO HIGHER, NO FIRE FOR THE PAST YEAR. NO HIGHER, NO FIRE DESCRIBING STAGNANT HIRING RATE. THIS LOCKS MANY YOUNG APPLICANTS OUT OF THE JOB MARKET MOST ESPECIALLY THOSE LOOKING FOR ENTRY LEVEL WORK AI AND ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY ARE 2 MAIN REASONS. COMPANIES MIGHT HOLD ON TO THEIR STAFF AND DO NOT HIRE NEW TALENT. GOOGLE CLOUD, HEAD OF AI PLATFORM SERVICES. CHERRY CUNNINGHAM SPOKE WITH WGCU NEWS HOST AND PRODUCER MIKE KINIRY ABOUT HOW AI IS IMPACTING THE JOB MARKET? YOU MAY KNOW LIKE FROM RADIO PROGRAMMING LIKE GULF COAST LIFE AND 3 SONGS STORIES WHICH HE IS A CO-CREATOR OF. >> SO FOR STARTERS, TELL US JUST A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR BACKGROUND. >> SURE. SO I LIVE LOCALLY HERE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA IN NAPLES WITH MY HUSBAND AND MY 2 YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER AS WELL AS DOG AND MY BACKGROUND. I STUDIED ECONOMICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY AND THEN ALSO GOT MY MBA FROM CURRENTLY GETTING MY MASTERS AND DATA SCIENCE FROM HARVARD'S EXTENSION SCHOOL. AND I'VE HAD OTHER JOBS PRIOR TO GOOGLE HAS WORKING AT THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK WITH IN NEW YORK ON THEIR QUANTITATIVE EASING DESK AFTER THE MOST RECENT FINANCIAL CRISIS ON THE TRADING DESK AS WELL AS AT AN AD TECH COMPANY FOUNDED BY GOOGLE'S AD TECH PLATFORM. FOUNDER THAT WAS BEEN HELPED BY A TNT AND NOW NAMA COUPLE. >> WHEN DID YOU FIRST PLAY AROUND WITH WHAT WE NOW THINK OF AS A GENERATIVE AI MODEL LIKE WHAT CHATGPT CAME OUT WITH 3 FOR 4 YEARS AGO. WHATEVER. WHEN DID YOU FIRST HAVE YOUR HANDS ON ONE OF THOSE KINDS OF MODERN VERSION TOOLS? >> YEAH, I WANT IT FIRST BECAME POPULAR AROUND 3, 4, YEARS AGO. I STARTED PLAYING WITH IT. GOOGLE VERY QUICKLY CAME OUT WITH THEIR VERSION, WHICH WAS, I BELIEVE, CALLED BARD AT THE TIME SOUTH ABOUT THAT TIME. >> WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST THOUGHTS? >> I THOUGHT IT WAS INCREDIBLE. WHAT IT COULD ACHIEVE. A LOT OF MY TIME WAS ACTUALLY SPENT WHEN IT BECAME POPULAR IS ASKED BY THE VP OF MY MY GROUP FOR CONSULTING AND GOOGLE TO LEAD OUR INITIATIVE TO HANDLE HOW WE DEAL WITH THE INCOMING FLUX OF GENERATIVE AI. SO THOSE THINGS LIKE WHAT ARE WE OFFER? OUR CUSTOMERS? HOW DO WE MANAGE THE PIPELINE? HOW DO WE ACTUALLY DRIVE SUCCESSFUL DELIVERY? SOS VERY QUICKLY IN THE THICK OF USING JENNY, I WORK. BUT THE THE PERSON ON THE SIDE TOOLING WAS WAS INTERESTING AS WELL AT THIS POINT IN YOUR CAREER AND LIFE. DO YOU USE ANY OF THESE TOOLS YOURSELF EITHER FOR WORK OR FOR YOUR PERSONAL? >> USE? >> YES, ALL THE ABOVE. AND VERY OFTEN. >> LIKE FOR WHAT INSTANCE, IF YOU COULD GIVE US AN EXAMPLE. >> I WOULD EVEN SAY FOR THE MOST RECENT ONE WAS THIS TALK THAT I'M GIVING IT FGCU. YOU USE IT IN THE DEVELOPMENT IN CREATION OF NEW SLIDE. THERE AND MORE TAILORED SLIDE WHERE? >> SO YOU. >> FEED OF A BUNCH OF INFORMATION ABOUT THINGS THAT YOU'RE WANTING TO MAYBE TALK ABOUT AND THEN IT KIND OF HONES IT DOWN FOR YOU. >> YES, AND THEN IT COULD ACTUALLY BUILD THE SLIDES AS WELL. SAY BE TIME FROM CREATING A BUNCH OF BOXES AND TWEAKING. >> SO EXPLAIN. THEN THE THE WAYS THAT YOU CAN EMPOWER A BUSINESS TO USE AN AI AGENT IN A WAY THAT WOULDN'T HAVE RISK. IT'S A FAIR QUESTION. >> IT'S IT'S A FAIR QUESTION OF THE DIFFICULT QUESTION. THAT REALLY STARTS WITH WHAT DOES THE COMPANY WANT TO ACHIEVE? WHAT ARE THE STANDARD RISKS THAT YOU SEE? WHERE IS THE AGENT COMING IN AND TAKING STEPS AND THEN HOW DO YOU DO RISK IN PRESSURE? TEST THOSE STEPS? AND SOMETIMES IT'S IN THE RECIPE BUILDING, FOR EXAMPLE, SAY YOU HAVE A COST OPTIMIZATION AGENT THAT YOU'RE TELLING. GO OUT AND FIND VENDORS AT THE CHEAPEST PRICE POSSIBLE. BUT IF YOUR SAY AND AIRLINE MANUFACTURER. THE AGENT COULD GO OUT AND BUY A PARK THAT'S RISKY FOR THE ORGANIZATION. SO THEN YOU JUST HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO PUT CONTROLS IN PLACE TO NOT SACRIFICE SAFETY FOR IT FOR THE RISK, THOSE CONTROLS CAN BE DONE UP FRONT IN THE RECIPES THAT YOU TELL THE AGENT WANT TO DO IN THERE, QUOTE, JOB DESCRIPTION OR CAN BE DONE AFTER THE FACT THERE'S ESSENTIALLY RED TEAM TESTING WHERE YOU CAN PRESSURE TEST AGENCY COULD ASK YOUR COSTA OPTIMIZATION AGENT TO PURCHASE SOMETHING THAT'S YOU KNOW, NOT COMMERCIAL GRADE FOR THE AIRLINE AND JUST MAKE SURE IT SHUT DOWN THE SORTS OF THINGS. SO. >> AND WOULD GOOGLE BE? GIVING COMPANIES AGENTS WITH THOSE CONFIGURATIONS OR WOULD COMPANIES BE GETTING AN AGENT NETWORK SYSTEM OR WHATEVER THE RIGHT TERM IS FROM GOOGLE AND THEN HAVE ITS PEOPLE BUILD LIKE WHERE ON WHICH END IS THE CONFIGURATION HAPPEN? WE'RE BOTH MAYBE I DON'T KNOW. >> YEAH, GOOD QUESTION. IT'S BOTH SO GOOGLE CLOUD'S PLATFORM IS BASICALLY OPEN TO LINK TO ALLOW ANYBODY TO CREATE FROM SCRATCH THEIR AGENTS AND DO IT QUICKLY. EVEN BUSINESS UNITS COULD CAN CREATE AGENTS. BUT WE ALSO HAVE WHAT'S CALLED PRE BUILT AGENT TEMPLATE THAT IF YOU WANT TO SO YOU'RE AT E-COMMERCE WEBSITE. IF YOU WANT TO BUILD AN AGENT TO BE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SALES YEAR SHOPPERS AND YOUR WEBSITE WE HAVE PRE BUILT. YOU CAN TAKE OUT OF THE BOX AND THEN JUST TAYLOR FOR YOUR OWN USE CASE PRETTY QUICKLY AND GET LIVE TO VALUE FAST. WE CAN IMAGINE SOMEBODY WHOSE JOB IS TO BE IN A I. >> AGENT ORCHESTRATION PERSON WHO IS SITTING AT THEIR DESK, WHO HAS SOME SORT OF AN INTERFACE THAT SHOWS WHICH AGENTS ARE BEING USED WITHIN THAT COMPANY SYSTEMS. AND THEY ARE DIRECTING THOSE AGENTS LIKE. THE KEYBOARD, I GUESS. >> YES, IT ESSENTIALLY OVERSEEING THOSE AGENTS AND THEY WOULDN'T NECESSARILY AT IT. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT SOME PEOPLE OPEN CLAW, THEY SEE THERE. AGENTS THAT LOOK LIKE HUMANS ON THE SCREEN RUNNING AROUND AND FIT LOOKS LIKE THE SIMS. BUT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ORCHESTRATING IN LOOKING AT A AT A COMPUTER, IT'S REALLY AUDITING THE LOGIC. YOU CAN GET TRACES OF WHAT THE AGENT DID STEPS THAT IT TOOK A NEW IS THE HUMAN SAY, YES, THAT'S CORRECT. NO, THAT'S NOT THAN AT IT, TOO. NO PERFORM AS BEST AS POSSIBLE. THE ACTIONS THAT YOU WANT AS WE KIND OF ALLUDED TO WHEN WE WERE CHATTING BEFORE THE SHOW, LANGUAGE MODELS CAN HALLUCINATE. >> IT'S NOT SUCH A BIG DEAL. IF YOU'RE JUST WRITING OR YOU'RE DOING RESEARCH OR WHATEVER. YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE JEN TICK AI THAT IS IN ACTING ON YOUR BEHALF ARE YOU ABLE TO PREVENT THOSE KINDS OF SYSTEMS FROM DOING THINGS UNEXPECTEDLY? THAT MAY HAVE GREATER CONSEQUENCES IF ITS BUSINESS. >> THERE ARE CERTAINLY WAYS TO DO THAT. IT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE NOT GIVING AGENTS THEIR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION. I THINK WE'RE HEADED AT LEAST IN THE SHORT TO MEDIUM TERM IS HUMANS BEING THE END DECIDER. SO INSTEAD OF HAVING AN AGENT GO OUT AND PURCHASE, YOU KNOW. SHOES THAT YOU LIKE. IT'S HAVING THE AGENT SEND YOU AN EMAIL TO SAY HERE ARE 3 OPTIONS OF SHOES. I THINK YOU SHOULD PICK OPTION NUMBER ONE. AND HERE'S WHY. CLICK YES TO PURCHASE. SO REALLY ONE OF THE BEST CONTROLS IN THE SHORT TERM IS HAVING THE HUMAN MAKE THE INDECISION AND SEE, YOU KNOW, THE THOUGHT PROCESS OF THE AGENTS. I DID A SHOW LAST WEEK OR THIS WEEK. >> ONE OF THE 2 WITH WHAT'S CALLED SOUTHWEST FLORIDA TECH PULSE. THEY DID A REPORT ON THE TECH INDUSTRY IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AND IT GREW 38% FROM 9, 2019 TO 2024, WHICH WAS LIKE WAY FASTER THAN ALL OTHER TECH SECTOR. SO EVEN HERE IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA, WE'RE SEEING A GROWTH IN THE TECH INDUSTRY AND A LOT OF THAT'S BEING DRIVEN BY THE STUFF THAT YEAR. AND YOUR TEAM WERE TALKING ABOUT. >> THAT'S IMPRESSIVE. AND ANY FINAL THOUGHTS? >> NO, I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME TODAY AND JUST HOPE AND ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY USE AI THAT AT THEIR FINGERTIPS TO MAKE THEIR LIVES EASIER AND MORE ACCESSIBLE.