Artificial intelligence may be disrupting some office jobs.
It is also creating demand for something AI cannot yet easily replace:
people who know how to wire, cool, repair and maintain gigantic data centres.
Research from Indeed reported by Business Insider shows data-centre job postings have more than doubled over two years, even while overall US job openings declined. About six out of every 1,000 US job postings are now associated with data centres—roughly triple the share in 2023. �
Business Insider
Approximately one-quarter of openings are in installation and maintenance, and those workers can earn around $10 more per hour than comparable workers outside the data-centre industry. �
Business Insider
AI Needs Humans With Tools
Data centres require:
electricians,
cooling specialists,
fibre technicians,
engineers,
construction workers,
maintenance teams,
security staff.
Those jobs cannot simply be performed by asking a chatbot to “please repair transformer three.”
The irony is beautiful:
AI may automate software work while simultaneously creating demand for physical technical labour.
Geography Is Changing Too
The hiring is spreading beyond Silicon Valley into locations such as Ohio, Mississippi and Nevada, where new data centres are being built. �
Business Insider
That means part of the AI employment opportunity may arrive in regions historically far removed from technology headquarters.
Mary Chuks’ Perspective
This is why the future-of-work debate should not become:
AI destroys jobs versus AI creates jobs.
It does both.
Technology rearranges value.
The important question is whether workers can move into the newly valuable roles fast enough.
Governments should be building training pipelines now for electrical engineering, cooling, networking and infrastructure maintenance.
Conclusion
The AI economy needs PhDs.
It also needs electricians.
And in some communities, the electrician may discover that the AI boom has made their skills more valuable than ever. �
Business Insider
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