Invisible Automation: What Awaits the Professional Sphere in the Age of AI

30 August 2025

Today, we see many tasks once considered non-automatable being successfully performed by computers. For example, neural networks are now capable of creating realistic images and writing theses, have learned to write programming code, analyze medical research results, and design formulas for medicines and poisons.

A landmark event in AI technology development occurred a few years ago with the creation of AlphaGo, a program that defeated the world champion in the game of Go, Lee Sedol. The program and its subsequent versions used reinforcement learning technology, where the computer learned the game independently without human intervention. After 3 hours of training, it reached a beginner level, and after 70 hours it surpassed human skill. The AlphaGo case is a vivid example of automating intellectual labor. It showed that a computer can not only perform intellectual operations at a human level but can also surpass it.

There are already numerous examples where the implementation of AI-based technologies has led or will soon lead to a reduction in the overall number of jobs. This includes government officials in England, warehouse workers at Amazon, and many other cases from very different fields.

In this regard, international organizations generally give grim forecasts concerning job reductions due to AI technology adoption. IMF analysts claim AI will affect up to 40% of jobs worldwide and worsen inequality. In 2023, Goldman Sachs experts stated that AI could replace about 300 million jobs. McKinsey Global Institute research shows that by 2030 at least 14% of workers worldwide may need to change careers due to advances in digitalization, robotics, and AI. PwC estimates that by the mid-2030s up to 30% of jobs may be automated.

It is expected that by 2030 around 70% of companies will use AI-based technological solutions. Successful examples exist in finance, such as risk assessment and fraud detection. Up to 80% of inquiries in the banking and telecom sectors are already handled by AI assistants. In the legal field, AI speeds up document management. The translator’s role is changing, with AI handling draft work and humans acting as proofreaders.

AI technologies with natural speech effects make virtual voice assistants sound like real operators. Using neural network-based speech technologies increases the speed and quality of handling requests and reduces call center staffing costs.

What awaits the labor market with the development and spread of AI technologies?

Despite negative forecasts, the current trend toward automation does not eliminate jobs overall. It impacts the "middle" range of the professional landscape. This encroachment on the labor sphere is double-edged: on one hand, automation mainly threatens routine skills rather than long-term professional experience, on the other, it replaces a significant share of automatable routine tasks within some professions. As a result, some specialties face a tangible risk of being reduced to peripheral functions.

If a profession involves human interaction, that becomes the domain of human expertise. If a profession requires high qualifications, a substantial part of routine tasks underlying it will gradually be performed by AI-based technologies. We live in an era of "invisible" automation. While we focus on the socially visible aspects of professional activity, machines acquire the skills to perform the invisible routine operations that form a profession’s foundation.

It may seem that current automation poses no threat to labor because machines only take over the most boring and routine elements of professional work. However, its consequences may be even more serious because it is invisible.

From a labor market perspective, automation necessitates a rethinking of the very concept of “professional activity.” Since only a minority work at a mastery level, for most workers modern automation can be a serious blow. If AI takes over routine tasks, the remaining social aspects of a profession will not be enough to express the qualities a human worker claims. Modern workers need to acquire new professional competencies to keep their jobs.

Experts believe AI will not affect the following professions:

• Teachers

• Lawyers and judges

• Executives, managers, and CEOs

• HR managers

• Psychologists and psychiatrists

• Computer systems analysts

• Artists and writers

For a person to remain competitive, it is important to:

• Continuously learn

• Develop communication skills

• Be flexible

• Specialize

In the AI technology era, companies should take several important steps:

• Invest in continuous team learning. Foster a culture of ongoing education so employees can develop skills needed to work with new technologies, including online courses, webinars, and seminars on AI and data analysis.

• Implement automation. Using AI and automation tools can greatly improve operational efficiency and customer experience, allowing teams to focus on strategic tasks and data analytics instead of routine work.

• Develop talents strategically. Align employee skill development with company goals to create an environment where talents can grow, which is crucial in a rapidly changing market.

• Encourage innovation. Motivate employees to generate new ideas and solutions, create workspaces for discussion and development of innovative projects to improve business processes and company efficiency.

We are on the brink of a labor market transformation. It is important to understand that professions will not disappear but transform because new specialists will be needed to work with AI technologies. Professionals will always be in demand; problems will arise for those unwilling to develop.

Andrey Yudkin, Chief Information Officer