Clark highlighted artisanal trades as particularly resilient to automation, noting the value people place on personal skill and craftsmanship. He cited roles like electricians and plumbers, but singled out gardening as a prime example of a profession that benefits from a personal touch.
“I think within those, you get certain high-status, high-skill parts, where people want to use a certain tradesman, not just because of their skill but because of… sometimes an aesthetic quality,” he said.
Turning to office-based roles, Clark suggested that AI may take longer to disrupt certain desk jobs, especially those involving trust-based human relationships.
“People want to do commerce with other people,” he said, explaining that high-level sales, which often deal with “larger pools of capital,” rely heavily on interpersonal connections and may be more resistant to automation.
AI and healthcare
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On the topic of AI in healthcare, Clark pointed out that data privacy laws and liability issues could significantly slow down the adoption of advanced AI systems like artificial general intelligence (AGI).He then gave a personal example: “I had a baby recently. Whenever my baby bonks their head, while I’m dialling the advice nurse, I talk to Claude (AI assistant) just to reassure myself that the baby isn’t in trouble.”
Despite the support such tools can offer, he stressed the ongoing importance of human doctors for diagnosis and treatment, noting that medical decisions still require professional oversight.
“I don’t think we actually fully permit healthcare uses via our own terms of service. We don’t recommend it because we’re worried about all of the liability issues this contains, but I know through my revealed preference that I’m always going to want to use that, but I can’t take that Claude assessment and give it to Kaiser Permanente.”
Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care consortium in the United States providing health coverage and healthcare services.