LOUISVILLE, Ky. — While tech CEOs have made claims about the potential artificial intelligence has to wipe out parts of the workforce, Sarah Ehresman, director of labor market intelligence for KentuckianaWorks, said she thinks those concerns are overblown.

“We don’t have to fear this apocalypse of everyone losing their jobs,” Ehresman said. “It should not be something that we totally run away from.”

Generative AI has been used more and more in recent years to help workers in their professional life, with many hoping to improve their speed and efficiency. 

Ehresman said she also uses AI in her daily work life to write, edit and even code. She’s able to complete a task with the help of AI within seconds. 

“I mean, something like this could potentially take you a whole day to figure out, but still, definitely not two minutes,” she said. “I don’t have to spend much time doing it. But I am able to review the code and make sure it’s accurate and that I’m getting the results that I expect.”

As for fears of being replaced by technology when it comes to some jobs, Ehresman said a human element is still necessary because AI is imperfect. 

“You know, artificial intelligence is known to hallucinate, produce bad results; it’s not perfect,” she said. “That’s where the human capabilities still matter a lot, to make sure that the results are what you would expect it to be.”

Whether people fear it or rely on it, Ehresman said AI is here to stay and should be embraced.     

“The best thing that workers can do at this point is really figure out how to work with the technology, not run away from it because they fear that it might replace them, but figure out how to use it in an effective way to make them more productive,” Ehresman said.

According to Brookings data, it is estimated that approximately 34% of Jefferson County’s workers could see half or more of their tasks affected by the use of artificial intelligence, which is a lower rate compared to coastal tech hubs.

Artificial intelligence has become an invisible assistant, quietly shaping how we search, scroll, shop, and work. It drafts our emails, curates our feeds, and increasingly guides decisions in education, healthcare, and the workplace. As companies increasingly integrate AI into their products and services, a critical but often overlooked question emerges: Why do some people embrace AI enthusiastically while others seem more hesitant?