We still need plumbers

re: "Is AI out for your job?" (BP, Opinion, May 29, 2023) 

Dear editor,

Tatat Bunnag blithely writes that "Jobs that involve creative thinking, complex problem-solving and human interaction are less likely to be fully replaced by AI. We do things that AI cannot do yet." He then gives not a single example of what such jobs might be. They are not Bangkok Post opinion writers, a job Chat GPT appears quite competent to do, if not last year, then likely next year.

As a quick test, I asked Chat GPT to: "write a 400 word essay for the title: 'Is AI out for your job?'" A few seconds later, I had a well-constructed essay developing sound arguments in excellent English. It included the sentence: "This can free up human workers from mundane and time-consuming tasks, allowing them to focus on more value-added activities that require creativity, critical thinking, and emotional intelligence" — including perhaps writing opinion pieces for the Bangkok Post.

But Mr Bunnag need not despair. Chat GPT also points out in another well-placed sentence that "This has led to the emergence of new job roles such as AI engineers, data scientists, and machine learning specialists." All that is needed is for the Post's author to put his innate mathematics skills to use with a spot of upskilling in that burgeoning field.

Alternatively, I suspect that Chat GPT and its rapidly evolving siblings probably can't replace plumbers yet. There might be an opening for some upskilling in that area at a local vocational college. 

 Felix Qui 

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The above letter to the editor is the text as submitted by Felix Qui to the Bangkok Post.

The text as edited was published in PostBag on June 4, 2023, under the title "We still need plumbers" at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2584646/talk-to-the-generals