The coming of AI has affected many global orders in many ways. From teaching, medicine, agriculture, and the legal profession to others too numerous to mention, AI has grown to become a formidable force in increasing efficiency of service delivery. This level of intervention isn't of the same level across the board. While it serves as a helping tool in some professions, it is threatening the continuous participation of humans in others.
One of the oldest professions, especially in this clime, is language translation. And also transcription. It was a well documented history of how Nigerians were, decades ago, sent to school to learn the foreign language so that they could serve as interpreters for the colonialists. Till recently, many people across the world were studying different languages so that they could work as interpreters.
With the level of technological advancements now, it is becoming irrelevant to go and invest ones time in acquiring a degree in a language. To a little extent, it may still be useful, but I foresee a time that it will become totally irrelevant. Advanced language translation AI has diminished the demand for human translators, affecting the relevance of language translation courses. These AI tools are faster and more efficient than what human counterparts can achieve within a given time.
A few years ago, some friends of mine studied some Nigerian languages like Yoruba and Hausa. After studying the courses for years, they ended up not practicing their profession. One is presently working in the bank. There is really no place for him to practice in the current settings, yet the universities are still awarding degrees in these fields. I really don't understand why people still choose to study such courses.
Another course that I don't see the continuous relevance is any course that has to do with traveling agents. In the past, intending travelers reached out to travel agents to secure travel tickets and make other necessary arrangements. All these arrangements are at the fingertips of travelers now. AI-powered tools are making these processes easier and more efficient. If I want to book a flight ticket today, I can do that from the comfort of my home. This particular profession and others that involve file management and human social interaction are being taken over entirely by AI.
In fact, I read a post earlier today that predicted a time when the majority of the cars on our roads would become driverless. It was predicted that road traffic accidents will reduce by 90%. It was predicted in the same report that road traffic controllers will lose their jobs in their numbers. We are in a period of the fourth industrial revolution. The world is changing, and whoever wants to be in tandem with the world must embrace the change.
AI is having a lot of impact in virtually all the professions. It is important for present crops of students to take a lot of factors into consideration before settling for a course of study at the university. To be relevant as a professional in the world of AI, one needs to be very meticulous and calculative.