In an age of quickly evolving technology and the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence, what humans will do for jobs, what the workforce does, is gradually changing. Lifelong learning is the new normal as agility and adaptability become foundations of the future of work, especially in a digital economy. While many people feel that this is unchartered territory for the workforce and now heavily competing against machines for performing labor activities, history tells us a different story. What machines are capable of doing has changed over the last 100 years thanks to a suite of technological developments, including the internet, cloud computing, and hardware improvements, among others. When we look at what machines can do today, it's not anywhere near the same as what they were capable of 100 years ago.

It is without a doubt that Artificial intelligence is helping ordinary consumers in our everyday life, but the big question is what is the impact going to be on the jobs that were previously done by humans and especially of concern are the manufacturing and technology workers whose careers seem to be the most vulnerable. This article will focus mainly on Software quality assurance/ Testing jobs and broadly on other technology workers (Software developers, support professionals, customer support representatives, and even project managers). Before we understand the impact of artificial intelligence on Quality Assurance jobs, we need to know where we are in the AI journey. Regardless of how much hype there is around AI these days, AI is not a new concept. Ancient Greeks had myths about robots, while Chinese and Egyptians built automatons.

According to some dire and sensational headlines, many people will likely soon find themselves in the unemployment line, while a relative of a Roomba moves in to their office, taking over their old job. Few topics have created so much fear, uncertainty and doubt in the workplace as recent developments in robotics and artificial intelligence. As people welcome Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant into their homes and personal lives, they are beginning to wonder if the same technology that answers their questions and assists them in their day-to-day lives could soon replace them in the office and on the factory floor, doing the same work they did – but better, faster, cheaper, 24/7/365. Earlier this year, the Center for Leadership Insight at Russell Reynolds Associates set out to examine how management, finance and administrative workers spend their time at work. Looking at data on 103 different jobs, we classified a total of 1,880 tasks (the specific activities these workers undertake) based on the likelihood that each task would be replaced or disrupted by AI.

Work as we know it is in a state of flux. Technology is imposing rapid change, and the rise in automation capabilities and artificial intelligence are the chief catalysts. As Salesforce's Futurist, I spend a lot of time forward-thinking and analysing trend data, and have shared my thoughts on what this technological change means for the future of work and how to navigate it. There's a lot of angst in the world right now that the rise of smart technologies are going to disemploy vast numbers of people. I appreciate why there's anxiety, but if we look at history as a predictor of the future, this simplistic idea that'technology steals jobs' is unfounded.

Automation in the workplace has been one of the looming existential threats to American workers for years now. And with each new study published, the fear of robots, machines, and artificial intelligence coming to take our jobs ticks higher. But a new report from McKinsey finds that the future of work and automation isn't quite the zero-sum game when it comes to jobs as some perceive. Right now, 51% of job activities could be automated with "currently demonstrated" technology, the McKinsey report says. The distinction is noteworthy: McKinsey isn't saying half of all jobs can be automated with existing technology, but rather job tasks.