Microsoft Study Reveals AI Threat to Writing, Sales, PR Jobs — Manual Roles Still Safe, For Now
'Our study explores which job categories can productively use AI chatbots. It introduces an AI applicability score that measures the overlap between AI capabilities and job tasks, highlighting where AI might change how work is done, not take away or replace jobs,' said Microsoft senior researcher Kiran Tomlinson.
The study categorizes 80 professions—40 that are highly exposed to AI capabilities and 40 that are least exposed. High-exposure jobs include interpreters, historians, writers, editors, and customer service agents—roles that require conveying or generating information, which AI is increasingly proficient at handling. Sales representatives, public relations specialists, and even some educators, like postsecondary business teachers, also made the list.
Interestingly, many of these high-risk roles demand advanced degrees. 'In terms of education requirements, we find higher AI applicability for occupations requiring a Bachelor's degree than occupations with lower requirements,' the report states, highlighting how formal education no longer provides a safety net against AI disruption.
Jobs ranking high on the AI applicability scale include:
Interpreters and Translators
Writers and Authors
Customer Service Representatives
Editors
Public Relations Specialists
News Analysts and Journalists0
Data Scientists
Postsecondary Teachers in Business and Economics
On the other hand, jobs involving physical tasks or on-site work continue to show resilience. Roles such as nursing assistants, cement masons, tire repairers, and dredge operators remain largely unaffected, primarily because they require manual labour and equipment handling that current AI technologies cannot replicate.
These lower-risk jobs include:
Nursing Assistants
Hazardous Materials Removal Workers
Automotive Glass Installers
Roofers
Massage Therapists
Water Treatment Plant Operators
Logging Equipment Operators
However, researchers caution that this immunity may not last forever. As AI and robotics evolve, even hands-on professions may see gradual automation. Still, for now, those working in physically demanding or highly specialized manual roles can breathe a bit easier.
The study makes one thing clear: AI is not just a tech buzzword anymore—it's becoming a real force in reshaping job functions across industries. While AI may not fully replace any one occupation just yet, it's certainly changing how many of them operate.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
33 minutes ago
- News18
Who Is Andrew Tulloch? The AI Expert Who Turned Down Meta's $1.5 Billion Offer
Last Updated: Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, is hiring top AI experts from OpenAI and Microsoft. Andrew Tulloch rejected a $1.5 billion offer. Alexandr Wang was hired as Chief AI Officer. Andrew Tulloch: Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta is on a poaching spree to acquire the top-level AI researchers and experts from companies in the field globally, including OpenAI, Microsoft, and rising AI startups. Some reports say Meta is offering up to $100-million whopping payout to these coveted experts to join its Meta's Super intelligence Team. One of such figures whose name is making headlines is Andrew Tulloch, though the reason is quite different. Tulloch has made headlines by turning down an almost $1 billion offer, a nine-figure salary. In India, when a six-figure salary is considered as a dream job, it's unusual for someone to turns down a 9-figure salary. Who Is Andrew Tulloch? Andrew Tulloch is a machine learning expert and co-founder of Thinking Machines Lab, an AI company led by Mira Murati that aims to push the boundaries of artificial intelligence beyond chatbots. He recently made headlines after The Wall Street Journal reported that he turned down a staggering nine-figure offer from Meta. The Journal noted that even in Silicon Valley—where massive paychecks are common—it's rare for someone to walk away from such a deal. Sources familiar with the matter said the $1.5 billion offer included bonuses and stock-based compensation, making the decision all the more surprising. Before this, he played a key role in developing GPT-4o and GPT-4.5 during his time at OpenAI, where he worked on large-scale ML systems and o-series reasoning. Tulloch spent over 11 years at Meta as a Distinguished Engineer, where he focused on machine learning systems and worked extensively with PyTorch. He began his career at Goldman Sachs, developing financial and trading strategies. Academically, Tulloch holds a Master's in Mathematical Statistics and Machine Learning from the University of Cambridge, where he earned a distinction and a college prize. He also graduated with First Class Honours and a University Medal from the University of Sydney in Advanced Mathematics. Meta Hires AI Prodigy Alexandr Wang To Lead Meta's Superintelligence Labs The co-founder of Alexandr Wang was hired by Meta to lead the Meta's Superintelligence team and was given a title of Chief AI Officer. His appointment followed Meta's investment in Scale AI, which valued the data-labelling startup at $29 billion. Earlier, Meta brough Yunazhi from OpenAI and Anton Bakhtin from Anthropic. 2 Indians Among 44 Members Team 2 India-origin were part of the Meta's Superintelligence team. Other than Trapit Bansal, Hammad Syed also joined the elite team as a software engineer. view comments First Published: News business Who Is Andrew Tulloch? The AI Expert Who Turned Down Meta's $1.5 Billion Offer Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Nintendo hiked the price of the original Switch citing 'market conditions,' but did not raise the price of the Switch 2
Nintendo is increasing prices on the original Switch hardware, as well as on some Amiibo, the Alarmo Clock, and various Switch and Switch 2 accessories in the US. The price increases will officially take effect on August 3 and are being implemented 'based on market conditions,' the Japanese company said in a post on its website. While Nintendo did not specify the new prices, US retailers have already begun adjusting them. For example, the original Switch, previously priced at $299, now costs $339. Similarly, the Switch OLED has risen from $349 to $399. Nintendo has faced pressure to raise prices on its products in part due to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The company manufactures most of its products in countries like China and Vietnam, and then imports devices such as the Switch into the US. While Nintendo has increased prices for the original Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED, it has not changed the price of the Switch 2 or its games. This decision is understandable, as the original Switch is nearing the end of its lifecycle, and consumer interest, particularly at retail is relatively low. As a result, the price hike is unlikely to have a major impact. However, Nintendo's choice not to raise the price of the Switch 2 appears to be a strategic one. Raising the price of a new console, especially one that has been a major hit and remains in limited supply could negatively affect the long-term sales performance of the Switch 2. The Switch 2 already carries a higher base price of $450, and its games also cost more than previous generations. Increasing the price at this early stage, given that the console has been on the market for barely a few months, could potentially hurt sales momentum. 'However, please note that price adjustments may be necessary in the future,' the company added. Earlier on Friday, Nintendo reported its fiscal first-quarter earnings and announced that sales of the Switch 2 console have reached 5.82 million units since its release on June 5. While the company has maintained its forecast of 15 million Switch 2 units sold this fiscal year, many analysts suggest that the estimate may be conservative, given the better-than-expected performance of the Switch 2. On Friday, the Trump administration unveiled a new wave of 'reciprocal' tariffs on several countries, with rates ranging from 10 percent to 41 percent. Sony Corp's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S have seen price increases in several markets. Anuj Bhatia is a personal technology writer at who has been covering smartphones, personal computers, gaming, apps, and lifestyle tech actively since 2011. He specialises in writing longer-form feature articles and explainers on trending tech topics. His unique interests encompass delving into vintage tech, retro gaming and composing in-depth narratives on the intersection of history, technology, and popular culture. He covers major international tech conferences and product launches from the world's biggest and most valuable tech brands including Apple, Google and others. At the same time, he also extensively covers indie, home-grown tech startups. Prior to joining The Indian Express in late 2016, he served as a senior tech writer at My Mobile magazine and previously held roles as a reviewer and tech writer at Gizbot. Anuj holds a postgraduate degree from Banaras Hindu University. You can find Anuj on Linkedin. Email: ... Read More
Economic Times
3 hours ago
- Economic Times
‘I feel useless': ChatGPT-5 is so smart, it has spooked Sam Altman, the man who started the AI boom
OpenAI is on the verge of releasing GPT-5, the most powerful model it has ever built. But its CEO, Sam Altman, isn't celebrating just yet. Instead, he's sounding the a revealing podcast appearance on This Past Weekend with Theo Von, Altman admitted that testing the model left him shaken. 'It feels very fast,' he said. 'There are moments in the history of science, where you have a group of scientists look at their creation and just say, you know: 'What have we done?''His words weren't about performance metrics. They were about compared the development of GPT-5 to the Manhattan Project — the World War II effort that led to the first atomic bomb. The message was clear: speed and capability are growing faster than our ability to think through what they actually continued, 'Maybe it's great, maybe it's bad—but what have we done?' This wasn't just about AI as a tool. Altman was questioning whether humanity is moving so fast that it can no longer understand — or control — what it builds. 'It feels like there are no adults in the room,' he added, suggesting that regulation is far behind the pace of specs for GPT-5 are still under wraps, but reports suggest significant leaps over GPT-4: better multi-step reasoning, longer memory, and sharper multimodal capabilities. Altman himself didn't hold back about the previous version, saying, 'GPT-4 is the dumbest model any of you will ever have to use again, by a lot.'For many users, GPT-4 was already advanced. If GPT-5 lives up to the internal hype, it could change how people work, create, and another recent conversation, Altman described a moment where GPT-5 answered a complex question he couldn't solve himself. 'I felt like useless relative to the AI,' he admitted. 'It was really hard, but the AI just did it like that.'OpenAI's long-term goal has always been Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). That's AI capable of understanding and reasoning across almost any task — human-like once downplayed its arrival, suggesting it would 'whoosh by with surprisingly little societal impact.' Now, he's sounding far less sure. If GPT-5 is a real step toward AGI, the absence of a global framework to govern it could be dangerous. AGI remains loosely defined. Some firms treat it as a technical milestone. Others see it as a $100 billion opportunity, as Microsoft's partnership contract with OpenAI implies. Either way, the next model may blur the line between AI that helps and AI that acts. OpenAI isn't just facing ethical dilemmas. It's also under financial are pushing for the firm to transition into a for-profit entity by the end of the year. Microsoft, which has invested $13.5 billion in OpenAI, reportedly wants more control. There are whispers that OpenAI could declare AGI early in order to exit its agreement with Microsoft — a move that would shift the power balance in the AI sector insiders have reportedly described their wait-and-watch approach as the 'nuclear option.' In response, OpenAI is said to be prepared to go to court, accusing Microsoft of anti-competitive behaviour. One rumoured trigger could be the release of an AI coding agent so capable it surpasses a human programmer — something GPT-5 might be edging meanwhile, has tried to lower expectations about rollout glitches. Posting on X, he said, 'We have a ton of stuff to launch over the next couple of months — new models, products, features, and more. Please bear with us through some probable hiccups and capacity crunches.'While researchers and CEOs debate long-term AI impacts, one threat is already here: fraud. Haywood Talcove, CEO of the Government Group at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, works with over 9,000 public agencies. He says the AI fraud crisis is not approaching — it's already happening. 'Every week, AI-generated fraud is siphoning millions from public benefit systems, disaster relief funds, and unemployment programmes,' he warned. 'Criminal networks are using deepfakes, synthetic identities, and large language models to outpace outdated fraud defences — and they're winning.' During the pandemic, fraudsters exploited weaknesses to steal hundreds of billions in unemployment benefits. That trend has only accelerated. Today's tools are more advanced and automated, capable of filing tens of thousands of fake claims in a day. Talcove believes the AI arms race between criminals and institutions is widening. 'We may soon recognise a similar principle for AI that I call 'Altman's Law': every 180 days, AI capabilities double.' His call to action is blunt. 'Right now, criminals are using it better than we are. Until that changes, our most vulnerable systems and the people who depend on them will remain exposed.'Not everyone is convinced by Altman's remarks. Some see them as clever marketing. But his past record and unfiltered tone suggest genuine might be OpenAI's most ambitious release yet. It could also be a signpost for the world to stop, look around, and ask itself what kind of intelligence it really wants to build — and how much control it's willing to give up.
