How much of a risk are human jobs at with this emerging technology?

The question is how will the humans affected respond and adapt to this inevitable occurrence. Should they be concerned for their means of livelihood?

The top technology companies of the world are having a go at so many revolutionary exploits, we are beginning to see driverless cars being tested and proposed, robots sitting on the board of directors meeting, 3D printing of body parts and so much more.

According to an article about online marketing on Entrepreneur website, Artificial Intelligence, AI may only be able to do so much, citing how an online algorithm such as that which Google gives helps in determining a buyer’s intent, predicting when prospects are ready to buy for example. But it still has not been able to draw out the context in which humans perceive a brand and why they make those purchase decisions altogether.

However, the article goes on to say ‘’Context is just another layer of data” in which machines can expand their algorithms to better understand the reasons why customers and prospects perceive brands, consume experiences and ultimately make decisions.

But concludes that as long as the art of human engagement remains which does better at making informed decisions about human motivations, human marketers can’t be replaced by artificial intelligence.

Another case is with the new Google Pixel Buds wireless headphones which has been designer with Google Translate software built in, capable of translating 40 different languages as they're spoken to you.

The argument as proposed in a Business Insider survey saw translators explain why they think their jobs will not be taken from them by the pixel buds.

These professional translator and interpreter is saying ‘’Translation software may recognize words but not meaning.’’

Explaining his point, he says a particular set of uttered words having a specialized or industry specific subject matter would see a Google translation merely interpret the words literally into the other language without the context explained. This would end up not making any sense to the recipient.

"Any legit professional will tell you that no matter how much the technology evolves, there's simply no way for it to replace a translator or an interpreter due to several issues, the major ones being sentiency and abstraction," said João Correia, a professional Portuguese translator.

"Sure, the machine will have no trouble in conducting a generic, simple conversation like 'Hello, how are you?', 'Good Morning' or even 'I'm going out to buy some groceries', but I'd like to see what happens when an Anglophile uses it to communicate with a Japanese about oil rig implementation."

It's an attitude that other professionals echoed. "Well, I think they will be useful for tourists, but when it comes either to technical stuff (and I'm not talking about aeronautical engineering or something of the sort, but about just a plain cooking recipe, for example) or to aesthetics (a play, for example), AI still has a long way to go before it produces decent results," Vane Oritz said.

"I don't think machines will ever be able to analyze the non-verbal aspect of communication deeply enough to detect the real meaning of what is being said."

Others are of the opinion that these emerging technologies will eventually disrupt their jobs though it would take some time for some professions to adopt it.

"I welcome new and amazing technology like this, even at the price of it destroying my profession. I'll have to find something else to do, just like millions of others have done through history," said Ludmila Baker, a court interpreter.

"I think the technology will be available way before the courts will be willing to use it. There are due process and constitutional rights that must be protected, and the laws will have to change before machines can do our jobs.

"As complex as human language is, and keeping in mind all the variables that affect interpretation (code switching, slang, etc.), I still believe this technology will be good enough to replace us (and, eventually, better)."

She added: "How long? Not so easy to tell. Technology and science don't progress in a linear way, but rather exponentially. The pace keeps getting faster."

Another positive thought and perspective came from Bill Wood, a DS Interpretation founder who says “Interpreters will never be replaced by technology, they will be replaced by interpreters who use technology."

These few examples go to show that all is not gloomy for human beings with regards to their job security being threatened by artificial intelligence, machine learning and all the other disruptive technologies man is creating.

It’s a question of being sound and firm at what you do, upgrading pre-existing knowledge and skills, and also accommodating some useful technology along the way.