Generative AI is a transformative technology that has the potential to redefine the nature of work. Understanding its role in the workplace, and what makes it different from past automation, requires a shift from what AI can do to what it should do.

Typical analyses of GenAI’s impact on workers focus on whether the technology can perform specific jobs. Such studies often break down a job and assesses the share of the constituent tasks that the technology can execute. For instance, common tasks for a customer service representative in a call centre include interacting with customers, recording interactions and resolving or escalating concerns. GenAI can handle these tasks, implying it could displace such workers.

But consider an occupation that might initially appear equivalent: an emergency service phone operator. The two jobs share many similar tasks. Should we expect them to face equal levels of risk of automation? The answer is more nuanced than technical capability alone. Beyond ethical considerations, automating such roles introduces complex trade-offs involving economics, task design, and operational interdependence.