The professions of the future, the future of humanity

While young people are sweating over the YKS exams, experts are debating the professions of the future. In this sense, the data presented at the 2025 World Economic Forum is quite significant. According to this data, the professions of the future are being shaped around digitalization and artificial intelligence. In this process, while some professions or forms of work may disappear entirely, the stars of some professions will rise, and new types of professions and work forms will emerge.

The World Economic Forum's data points to the rise of artificial intelligence-focused engineering fields. Big data expertise will take center stage among the professions of the future. And we have already entered this process. Data has become the most important capital of today's society. Since the functioning of artificial intelligence is entirely based on data, data expertise is on its way to becoming the star of the future. This data-driven trend along the axis of digitalization is creating an environment for fields such as software, computer science, and cybersecurity to rapidly come to the fore.

The automation process is rapidly progressing toward the future, focused on artificial intelligence. Accordingly, it is clear that the way of doing business and working in the banking sector will undergo significant change. In addition, we can see that there will be significant changes in professional fields such as finance, accounting, and cashiering. Moreover, we are witnessing the rapid spread of computer-based payment transactions in markets today. At this rate, it seems likely that the job of cashiering will largely shift from humans to machines within the next five years.

With the introduction of digitalization and artificial intelligence technologies, we see that the way of doing business and working in the field of human resources is also moving toward mechanization. Today, we see that artificial intelligence is mostly used in recruitment in Western countries, and such practices have begun in some large companies in Turkey. Therefore, we are moving toward a future where digital technologies, and especially artificial intelligence, will be used effectively in almost all areas of society and business life.

However, the rapid development of technology and the fact that every aspect of life is under the influence of these developments does not mean that it does not bring some serious problems with it. Problems such as environmental pollution, nature being under threat, global warming, and the chemical-focused food industry are seriously endangering the future of the world and humanity. Fortunately, as the danger increases, so does awareness. This reveals the need for humanity to initiate a healing process on the one hand. In this direction, strategies such as the development and use of nature-friendly technologies, the development of the organic food industry, and the creation of environment-friendly city and settlement plans have begun to be developed. In this direction, we see that farming and agriculture are regaining value. Therefore, the fields of agriculture and food engineering are becoming attractive again.

On the other hand, the fact that technology is so prominent and shows its weight in all areas of life also causes professional fields related to intellectual and artistic creativity to gradually lose momentum. I think the real danger is concentrated at this point. Making work easier, doing more work in less time, and increasing productivity in the business and work world are certainly good things in the name of development. However, it also seems possible that this mechanization process will have a negative impact on people's emotional and spiritual development. It is futile to expect 'humane tomorrows' from a human being who is increasingly detached from nature and who is lonely and alienated in the technology-wrapped environment of urban life.

Every era, of course, produces its own cultural forms and develops its own lifestyle. Every period of human history has revealed its own unique human, social, and cultural character. However, at no time has humanity been so distant from itself, nor has it been so captivated by the attractiveness of the material world. There are important indicators of this at the micro and macro levels. For example, if philosophy and literature departments in universities have not been attracting interest in recent years, there is no need to look for another reason for this. Similarly, if countries/states are allocating most of their resources to defense and armament, there is no need to look for another reason for this. If our surroundings are in blood and ruin, there is no need to look for another reason for this. Humanity supposedly left the periods of barbarism behind and entered the period of civilization. But nothing has changed. The rules of the game are the same, only the apparatuses have changed. Moreover, the problem continues to deepen. People are trying to establish their own existence through the destruction of one another. People have long since stopped debating around the motto of to be or not to be. Now the problem is to survive or to perish.

Then, let us keep up with the course of the world on the one hand. Let us train ourselves in new professional fields along with technological developments. Educational institutions must reorganize their curricula according to new developments and the needs of the future. However, on the other hand, we must think about what we need to do so as not to lose our superiority to the machine in the face of all these technological developments. We must take the necessary precautions so that the technology we produce does not govern us. Since this planet we live on consists of humans, then every kind of construction must also be done by humans. For the world to be built in a way worthy of humanity, it is essential that humans choose to remain human. For this, we must develop in technology, but we must not give up on art, literature, and philosophy. Therefore, we must not abandon ourselves, our humanity.