AI and the Future Workforce: Insights from a BILT Member
Following the lively April 28 National IT Innovation Center BILT meeting discussion on emerging IT workforce trends, two employer SMEs conducted additional research and brainstorming on their own, further exploring some of the discussion topics. They shared their work with the NITIC team leadership. This is, of course, what every program strives for with their BILT – cultivating employer SMEs so invested in the work that they spend their free time finding ways to support the effort of aligning curriculum with workforce needs.
Read the minutes of that April 28 meeting here.
Phillip Andrews is an adjunct professor in the Mechanical Engineering school at SMU in Dallas, but he’s also the longtime Managing Director of International Innovation Centers focused on Smart Cities and Industry 4.0. Phillip is also a member of the North-Central Texas Council of Governments and has consulted in a number of North Texas innovation centers and business incubators. Phillip has been engaged with NITIC’s BILT from the very beginning – his involvement with providing workforce guidance to NSF IT centers, in fact, stretches back to NITIC’s predecessor, the National Convergence Technology Center.
Below are Phillip’s comments on the “what is happening with AI.” NITIC thanks you, Phillip!
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These are the new professions that the experts are projecting that AI will create:
Top Emerging AI Professions
• Prompt Engineers: Specialists who craft, refine, and optimize inputs for generative AI models to ensure high-quality, accurate outputs.
• AI Ethics & Compliance Officers: Professionals responsible for ensuring AI systems are unbiased, transparent, fair, and compliant with regulations.
• AI Trainers & Data Annotators: Individuals who prepare, label, and clean data (text, audio, images) to train and improve algorithm accuracy.
• AI Personality Designers: Experts who create engaging and consistent personas for AI chatbots and virtual assistants.
• AI Content Reviewers/Auditors: Staff who check AI-generated content for safety, accuracy, and brand alignment.
• AI Sustainability Analysts: Specialists focused on measuring and minimizing the environmental impact (energy consumption) of AI models.
• AI-Enhanced Creative Directors: Creative leaders who integrate AI tools into workflows for film, fashion, or design to speed up experimentation.
• AI Literacy Educators: Trainers who teach employees and students how to use AI tools effectively and safely.
• Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) Engineers: Engineers who maintain, deploy, and monitor AI systems in production, ensuring they operate smoothly.
• AI Solution Architect: Architects who design end-to-end AI systems to solve specific business problems.
Key Trends Driving New Jobs
• AI+X Application: Applying AI to specific fields like healthcare, education, or marketing (e.g., AI healthcare specialists).
• Human-in-the-loop: The necessity for humans to validate, interpret, and manage AI outputs.
• Human-Centric Solutions: Improving empathy, EQ, and SQ.
• Data Center Growth: Increasing demand for infrastructure-related jobs, with over 600,000 new roles reported in AI-enabled data centers.
It’s important to stay appraised of the new jobs that are opening, instead of thinking about the old jobs that are being eliminated.
Here are the seven new jobs that AI will invent by 2030 (according to Yi, a Chinese scientist). – https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2025/07/04/ai-creating-7-in-demand-careers-that-can-future-proof-your-job-by-2030/
- Prompt Engineer. “Prompt engineering is to AI what coding was to the early days of the internet,” Yi explains. He says this role involves crafting highly specific prompts to guide AI tools like ChatGPT. Prompt engineers mix of logic, language, and creativity, and fields like tech, law, and education are already hiring prompt engineers.
- AI Ethics Officer. Yi points out that AI touches everything from credit scoring to criminal justice. “Ethics officers will help companies develop guidelines to ensure fairness, transparency, and compliance with global regulations,” he states.
- AI-Assisted Healthcare Technician. “As AI begins to assist with diagnostics, medical imaging and treatment planning, technicians who can operate these systems and work with patients will become essential,” according to Yi.
- AI Maintenance Specialist. Even though factories and logistics hubs are investing in intelligent machines, Yi points out that those machines still need human oversight. He describes them as specialists who understand that both mechanical systems and AI behavior will be vital. “The factory worker of tomorrow won’t just hold a wrench,” Yi notes. “They’ll monitor dashboards and algorithms too.”
- Sustainable AI Analyst. Yi says that AI consumes enormous energy, adding that it can also be used to reduce emissions and waste. He describes that analysts in this role will work to ensure AI is used efficiently and contributes to sustainability goals.
- AI-Enhanced Creative Director. “From fashion to film, creative leaders who can integrate AI into their workflows will be able to experiment at scale,” Yi stresses. “These directors will act as curators, combining intuition with machine-generated content.”
- AI Literacy Educator. Yi reminds us that professionals will be needed to train others on how to use AI effectively and ethically, now that it’s embedded in everything from office tools to customer service. He believes that this includes schools, governments, and private companies.
A Final Takeaway on AI Creating 7 In-Demand Careers
Instead of training for disappearing jobs, experts agree that it’s more prudent to look forward, making sure you develop the skills for the in-demand jobs in the next five years. If you’re a student, recent graduate, or one of today’s workers, Yi says the worst mistake you can make is preparing for a job that won’t exist in five years.
“In 2010, nobody was trained to be a social media manager. By 2020, it was a core role in nearly every company,” he points out. “In 2025, we’re already seeing new jobs emerge. The smartest thing anyone can do is pay attention to where AI is creating opportunity, not just where it’s causing fear.”
Yi’s comments drive home the importance of paying attention to the new trend of AI, creating 7 new fields that can future-proof your career by 2030. He recommends focusing on skills that can’t be easily automated. Problem-solving, adaptability, communication, and a basic understanding of how AI systems work are likely to remain relevant across sectors. “AI won’t kill jobs,” Yi concludes. “But it will make some jobs feel obsolete.” People who learn how to work with AI instead of against it will come out ahead, as the trend of AI creating 7 in-demand careers will continue into the future.
The top 40 most affected occupations by generative AI:
(According to Microsoft) – https://fortune.com/article/what-are-the-jobs-most-exposed-to-ai-microsoft-researchers-list/
- Interpreters and Translators
- Historians
- Passenger Attendants
- Sales Representatives of Services
- Writers and Authors
- Customer Service Representatives
- CNC Tool Programmers
- Telephone Operators
- Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks
- Broadcast Announcers and Radio DJs
- Brokerage Clerks
- Farm and Home Management Educators
- Telemarketers
- Concierges
- Political Scientists
- News Analysts, Reporters, Journalists
- Mathematicians
- Technical Writers
- Proofreaders and Copy Markers
- Hosts and Hostesses
- Editors
- Business Teachers, Postsecondary
- Public Relations Specialists
- Demonstrators and Product Promoters
- Advertising Sales Agents
- New Accounts Clerks
- Statistical Assistants
- Counter and Rental Clerks
- Data Scientists
- Personal Financial Advisors
- Archivists
- Economics Teachers, Postsecondary
- Web Developers
- Management Analysts
- Geographers
- Models
- Market Research Analysts
- Public Safety Telecommunicators
- Switchboard Operators
- Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary
Below is additional info that explains some of the new AI-related jobs.
AI is expected to improve emotional intelligence (EQ) and empathy in the future by acting as a tool for training, providing real-time sentiment analysis, and acting as a non-judgmental partner for emotional support. It will likely act as an amplifier of human empathy rather than a replacement, aiding in detecting, labelling, and simulating emotions to assist, not replace, human interaction.
Human-Centered AI (HCAI) is an approach that prioritizes human needs, values, and well-being, designing systems that empower rather than replace humans. It focuses on creating fair, transparent, and ethical AI that acts as a collaborative tool, balancing high automation with high human control.
Reminder: The current AI is still in Stage 1. It has to “climb” three more stages.
Key Usage Examples of HCAI:
• Adaptive Learning Systems: Educational platforms that adjust to individual student needs rather than just automating grading.
• Medical Diagnostic Aids: Tools that assist doctors by providing summaries and recommendations, allowing human experts to make final decisions
• Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS): Technologies focusing on safety and elevating human driving ability rather than full autonomy.
• Empathetic Customer Service Agents: Chatbots designed to handle service tasks ethically and efficiently while ensuring human takeover for complex issues.
• Collaborative Robots (Cobots): Manufacturing robots that work alongside humans, adapting to human input in real-time.
Synonyms and Related Approaches:
• Human-in-the-loop (HITL) AI: Emphasizes human involvement in training and decision-making.
• Trustworthy AI: Focuses on safety, transparency, and accountability.
• Augmented Intelligence: Emphasizes AI designed to enhance human intelligence rather than replace it.
• User-Centric AI: Focuses on the user experience (UX) and design aspects of AI.
Key Principles of HCAI:
• Human Control: Ensuring humans remain in charge, with systems acting as “supertools.”
• Transparency & Explainability: Designing AI that provides clear explanations for its actions, fostering trust.
• Fairness and Safety: Eliminating bias and ensuring ethical, secure, and beneficial outcomes for society.
AI is also poised to transform spirituality by acting as a personalized guide, meditation coach, and repository of wisdom, offering customized tools that can enhance, rather than replace, human spiritual journeys. It will likely deepen engagement through accessible, tailored practices, though it poses risks of digital distraction or diluted sanctity.
Key Ways AI May Improve Spirituality:
• Personalized Guidance: AI can serve as a “guru,” offering personalized meditation routines, prayer prompts, and insights tailored to a user’s unique spiritual path.
• Accessible Knowledge: AI acts as a tool to translate and analyze ancient scriptures, providing insights into sacred texts that might not be immediately apparent.
• Enhanced Mindfulness & Wellbeing: AI-powered apps and chatbots provide 24/7 spiritual support and companionship, which can help foster mindfulness and reduce anxiety.
• Virtual Experiences: Emerging technologies might create immersive, virtual “sacred spaces,” allowing for unique, personalized experiences of awe or reflection.
Potential Pitfalls and Limitations:
• Authenticity Concerns: Critics argue that AI, lacking consciousness or a soul, can only emulate empathy, which may not provide a genuine spiritual connection.
• Loss of Depth: There is a concern that reliance on AI could dilute traditional, nuanced spiritual practices or lead to a superficial, “remixed” understanding of deeper truths.
• Distraction: Over-reliance on technology may reduce, rather than foster, the quiet contemplation needed for spiritual growth.
As of 2026, about four in ten practicing Christians already use AI for Bible study, prayer, or spiritual growth, signaling that AI is already becoming a significant tool for personal spiritual development. The future of AI in spirituality will likely be one of “digital dharma,” where it is used to raise spiritual intelligence
Here is what the high-level executives are saying about AI:
Besides AI, the other strategic technologies are:
• Quantum Computing
• Cybersecurity
• Blockchain
• Autonomous Robots and Drones
They feel that when AI and Quantum Computers team up by 2030 or so, no password will be safe. They are encouraging company leaders to take action NOW.
Two Final Reminders:
• AI is NOT a tool like the calculator that someone mentioned earlier today.
• We are entering the Human-Centric Era.
The Human-Centric Era represents a pivotal shift in leadership and technology, prioritizing human well-being, creativity, and ethics in an AI-driven world. It moves beyond mere productivity to focus on purpose, empathy, and sustainable growth, ensuring technology empowers rather than replaces human capabilities.
The Human-Centric Era (often referred to as Society 5.0 or the “Agentic Age”) marks a shift where technology—specifically Artificial Intelligence — is used primarily to amplify human potential rather than just replace human tasks.
In this era, organizations will prioritize empathy, ethics, and human well-being alongside efficiency and productivity. The focus is shifting away from machines and equipment efficiencies to aiding people in becoming better human beings who understand the real value of life and existence.
Understanding the real value of life often moves beyond material success or public recognition, focusing instead on internal alignment, depth of experience, and contribution to others.
Links:
Human-Centered Generative AI Course | Stanford Online
Human-Centered Research with AI | IDEO U Online Course
Human-centered artificial intelligence – Artificial Intelligence Engineering, MS
Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence – Human-Computer Interaction Lab