Interesting question, @Janet Stiles. My personal take - FOBO isn't new, but its hitting the next generation of workers. It's also hitting areas of the workforce that in previous generations may have felt relatively immune from becoming obsolete due to technology advancement.
My generation was largely sold on a college degree as the best path for a successful future. And for many, the cost and challenge in translating a college degree into a career have taken the shine off. (And I say that as someone who loves school). Here's one of my favorite quotes on this topic:
Layer on top of this the emergence of AI, inflation, stagnant wages, the pandemic highlighting corporate profits and disparities among the top 1% of workers, younger employees being added to the workforce, and a tight job market...is it any wonder that we're seeing strikes across a number of fields?
While the issue is more complicated than simply attributing this to the advancement of AI, it is a valid concern - while estimates vary, some studies suggest that AI could replace the equivalent of "85 million jobs worldwide by 2025, and more than 300 million in the long term."
Tagging my colleagues @Kaitlyn Leaf, @Alexis Rossi, and @Toni Gallo to chime in on the FOBO debate!
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Angela D. Blood
Curriculum Community Manager
Director, Curriculum Resources
AAMC
202-828-0482
ablood@aamc.org------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 09-18-2023 09:43:55 AM
From: Janet Stiles
Subject: Question of the Week: FOBO in academic medicine?
According to a recent Gallup poll, 22 percent of US workers have expressed fear that technology will make their jobs become obsolete. The proportion of workers with "FOBO" (fear of becoming obsolete) has grown more in the past two years than any other worry. Rates of the most commonly reported job fears-reduction of salary, reduction in benefits, job being moved overseas--have remained steady over many years. But the increasing rates of FOBO is a new trend, and one that is particularly high in the college-educated workforce.
Are you seeing FOBO among your peers and colleagues at medical schools and teaching hospitals? Are jobs in academic medicine more or less at risk of being replaced by technology?
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Janet Stiles
Sr. Director, Member Engagement & AAMC CareerConnect
Association of American Medical Colleges
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