The age of artificial intelligence (AI) may finally give society's hard workers the attention and the money they deserve, some experts say.
There appears to be very little chance that AI can replace construction workers, plumbers, electricians, chefs and industrial machinery mechanics in the near future, and some analysts believe the fastest and most thorough people in those trades will make a lot of money as the value of their services increases.
The services are likely to increase in pay because few people can or will do them, leading to labor shortages and higher income for those who do.
Some people are concerned about AI replacing some jobs, but technology and AI consultant Jon Schultz says it's not hard to imagine these service professions becoming among the most highly paid.
"I agree 100% with it. What I'm finding is, and I'll just take a look at the air conditioning world, I've got a house with more gizmos on it than the house I had 15 or 20 years ago, and it's got all kinds of sensors, and it's going to take some person with some intelligence to solve those problems, and it's going to be expensive when you find the best person who can solve those problems," Schultz said in an interview Newsradio 740 KTRH.
"If you look at electricians, plumbers, HVAC people, anything that has to do with the service industry, people are going to be needed to do that. People.
"One of the advantages I do see for AI is on the training side. Now with technology more complicated, AI is going to be a great training method for these electricians and plumbers and so on.
"I think you're going to see an accelerated version of training and education, it'll be more personalized "
And while some worry about the effect of AI on their jobs, Schultz sees AI easing the stress of some professions, like in the computer software work he does. Consulting AI like software helping deal with software.
"If I encounter a situation I can just pull up my latest AI chat and ask a few questions and I can have my problem solved immediately.," as Schultz puts it.
"Even our coders. We're seeing people who write the computer code working with AI."
Like many other professions, he says he's seeing "AI assisting us in accelerating what we're trying to do on a daily basis."