Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, there has been growing concerns about its potential to replace existing jobs. After all, artificial intelligence, on which ChatGPT is based, has witnessed significant progress and exponential growth in terms of capabilities, applications and public awareness.

However, fear over job losses caused by increased use of automation is nothing new. In fact, this mistrust of automation has been around for hundreds of years. In the 16th Century, Queen Elizabeth I of England rejected a request for a patent by William Lee to partially mechanize the production of stockings. Although Lee’s invention would have been far quicker and cheaper to produce stockings than the traditional method, the queen feared this automation would cause workers to lose their jobs.

Closer still, in the 50s and 60s, dozens of thousands of US workers lost their jobs as factories — led by the Ford Co. — started deploying automation. The US economy at the time entered a major depression, which was later known historically as the automation depression. John F. Kennedy, then a senator during a presidential campaign in 1960, declared automation “the biggest challenge for jobs.”

Around the same period, The Nation Magazine, the oldest weekly magazine in the US, published an editorial where it boldly concluded: “We are stumbling blindly into the automation era with no concept or plan to reconcile the need of workers.”

In January of last year, Amazon announced the layoff of 18,000 workers across its distribution centers, at a time where the company is adding 1,000 robots daily to its existing half-a-million robots. The CEO of AK Invest, Cathy Wood, said in an interview with CNBC last year that she expected Amazon to have more robots than employees by 2030, which some analysts in the tech industry coined it ominously as the Great Replacement.

So, are we ready to cast judgment and declare automation a job killer? I say, hardly. What Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth I before him lacked was the luxury of time and data. These two together have proven that automation was not only a strong catalyst for job growth but also for economic growth.

McKinsey & Co. reported that although automation was directly responsible for the loss of 3.5 million jobs in the US alone since 1970, it also created 19.3 million jobs in a wide ranging and better-paying occupations across industries during the same period. In a 2019 report, the World Economic Forum estimated that automation will displace 75 million jobs worldwide, but it will also create 133 million new jobs by 2030. PricewaterhouseCoopers also pointed out that while smart automation would replace many existing jobs, it had the potential to bring about great economic benefits and generate demand for many new jobs.

Automation is not only a net-job creator but also a booster for economic growth. It has led to significant productivity gains improving efficiency and overall cost reduction for businesses and customers alike. This led to reduction in prices of goods and services, resulting in consumers spending more and consequently leading to the creation of new jobs.

For instance, while travel booking websites have, in many ways, replaced traditional travel agents, they also created more job opportunities in areas related to software development, web design, digital marketing and data analysis. Further, and due to its inherent convenience, ease of access and price comparison, travel booking websites also played a significant role in expanding the overall travel market.

According to Statista, two-thirds of travel and tourism market came from online channels in 2022, while the International Air Transport Association estimates that the number of air passengers worldwide will double to 7.8 billion by 2036 due, in large part, to automation.

However, some reports claim that AI is even a bigger threat to jobs than traditional automation. Unlike automation they argue, AI has the potential to replace more complex tasks that involve cognitive abilities, decision-making and problem solving. Yet, the World Economic Forum reported back in 2022 that AI would create more jobs than it replaces on the long run. The trick here, as an IBM study put it, “AI won’t replace people, but people who use AI will replace people who don’t.”

So, the question is: how do employees, companies and governments keep up with the constant technological innovation and not risk becoming irrelevant? The answer is certainly not by protecting jobs that machines can do better but rather by preparing the labor force for skills that are likely to be required in the future. For example, companies should continuously assess employees’ current skills in relation to AI and its diverse applications. Offering reskilling programs and fostering a learning culture to help employees transition to new roles or acquire skills that complement automation — such as data analysis, big data programming, process optimization and reengineering — is a great first step.

Governments should prepare students for an AI-dominated job market by adopting a comprehensive approach that involves collaboration with educational institutions and industry players. Developing curriculums that incorporate courses on data science, machine learning, programming and critical thinking is now a must. Additionally, establishing cooperative education initiatives that provide students with practical hands-on experience in Al related fields is one of the best approaches to ensure students’ readiness for the job market of the future.

In conclusion, the rise of AI and automation should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat. While there may be concerns regarding job losses, history has shown that technological advancements have consistently led to the creation of new industries and better-paying job opportunities. By embracing new technologies, we can unlock new possibilities, increase productivity and create a labor force that is more skilled, innovative and adaptable. A labor force that is free from mundane and repetitive tasks so that it focuses on higher-value work activities that require creativity, critical thinking and emotional intelligence.

• Khaled Almushare is chief marketing, innovation and information officer at Johnson Controls Arabia.