these are the 15 professions of the future

The future is already a thing of the past. Years ago we imagined the life of the new century as a "Blade Runner" in which cars moved on aerial highways and where the "Interstellar" connection would be a day-to-day thing. Until that point we have not yet arrived, but it is the reality that is getting closer and, in fact, many of the elements that until recently were only science fiction, have been installed in our way of life. For this reason, the professions that will mark the new decade that we are about to begin will be closely related to this matter. Many readers will not even know what these trades consist of. Experts in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, robotics engineers ... will be the most successful careers in the labor market. This is confirmed by a study conducted by the LinkedIn professional network that has analyzed public profiles that have held a full-time position for the past five years. "Emerging jobs in Spain for 2020 reflect a change in organizational structures," they say in this report, which highlights other professions as a sales force developer, "customer success" experts, or "Cloud" consultant. On the one hand, there are digital profiles with a high technical and scientific specification, such as those related to AI or Robotics engineers and, on the other, there are others that demonstrate a "deep knowledge" of digital tools and platforms.

We meet with one of the professionals who are already fully involved in one of these trades that will mark the new decade. Sebastián Laiseca, 31, from a young age knew that his job would be to work on Artificial Intelligence issues. Then it was still something intangible and unintelligible, but his visionary power made him dive into this adventure. He studied engineering in Industrial Organization at ICAI and the last two years of his career he was lucky to be able to study them outside of Spain: in Toulouse and Berlin. There he began to work in an aeronautical center and later made an "executive" in the École Centrale Paris. After making his first steps in a startup, he was signed to work on advanced technology issues, specializing in the following at the moment. Your resume is as overwhelming as your knowledge. He speaks fluently about topics that inexperienced in this area can literally sound like to a Hollywood screenplay. «When I was studying for the degree, from time to time they were selling old books for one or two euros. Once I took one on Artificial Intelligence that people didn't pay too much attention to. I studied it whole and thought: ‘‘ This is what I would like to do ’’. And so it was », he acknowledges. Now, recently in his thirties, he is one of the most leading researchers in our country. In fact, it also collaborates with Thiber, the most influential security think tank in Spain.

Demystify the "dark side"

Laiseca explains that AI, as far as applications are concerned, is something that is still in a very incipient phase, hence the niche market is waiting for the incorporation of a large number of experts. «Until the end of 2000 it existed mathematically, but everything changed when everything related to the hidden layers began. The AI itself is old, the applications are not », qualifies Madrid. Precisely the implementation of knowledge that had only been studied theoretically is what has made society look at this discipline. We are at a time when technology as a tool has evolved a lot, but there are no global applications to take advantage of it. That is to say, it is as if we were in the mid-90s on the internet when giants such as Google, Facebook, Amazon or Airbnb. For Laiseca, the most popular is everything that has to do with prediction in the broadest sense. For example, the possibility of an object being in an image or predicting a machine failure so that when this occurs it can be repaired faster and the cost is lower. «This could be said to be the most classic AI, the one that has emerged since 2018 goes a step further and this new discipline is the prescriptive AI, we no longer have to predict but we must prescribe an action, provide the solution. It's like the doctor tells you that you have a disease and gives you a certain treatment. We include it as a family of solutions that help decision-making », emphasizes the engineer. In short, it would be something like using AI to understand something that would be impossible otherwise. Quick decisions and lots of information. As examples, Laiseca highlights the sale of shares or where to point the growth of a business. "When we get it, it will be the total revolution," he emphasizes.

But then, if the machines make the decisions for us ... will we be dominated by them? The researcher banishes that idea: "It will be a help, but those who will make the final decision will be the humans." Those who work in this sector are aware of the misgivings of this type of technological development, but insist that every currency has two sides and, like everything else, has a positive side and others that may be less so. Even so, they rule out that the power of action and decision of the human being is completely crushed by thinking robots. «AI cannot be applied to everything. It is even necessary to always take into account the ethical, moral and legal level. In matters of defense or security would not leave the decision making to the machines. Another thing is that a surgeon uses a robotic arm to perform the operation, but the decision of how to carry it out will always be from the professional. A very positive case, for example, that denotes the good use of AI, is that in tolls, a system detects the arrival of an ambulance and does not force it to stop. As in everything, you have to look for the correct application and that it is socially beneficial ”, analyzes Laiseca. As a counterpoint, this technological guru emphasizes that one of the greatest risks that can be taken at this time is the failure to adapt to these new technologies. «I think that both in universities and in colleges, it is necessary to study what Artificial Intelligence is, not on a professional level but to know its existence and what its applications may be. Just as Word or Excel is taught. This would also help new generations to demystify this profession because it is not a complex and inaccessible cloud »; judgment. Many would like to have it as a subject.