140: What’s the Future of Data Analysts with AI?

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Will AI replace data analysts? Let’s clear up the confusion and talk about what’s next.

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⌚ TIMESTAMPS

00:47 The Reality of AI in the Data World

01:47 AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement

02:54 Adapting to AI

06:26 Practical Tips for Using AI

09:05 Conclusion and Career Advice

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Episode Transcript

Avery (00:00):
Will AI replace me as a data analyst.
That is a question I've beengetting a lot of recently.
And in today's episode,I wanted to dig into.
If I actually think that'sgoing to be the case.
Once again, guys, welcome back to the datacareer podcast, the number one podcast
for your landing, your first data job.
I'm your host, Avery Smith.

(00:21):
And I run a company called datacareer jumpstart where I help
people land their first data job.
So let's talk about this whole AI,maybe taking the place of data analysts.
Is it going to happen?
Has it already happened?
Let's get into some thoughts.

(00:46):
All right.
So AI is not coming.
It is here.
You guys with revolutionary new productslike ChatgPT GPT4 MidJourney It's
very clear that AI is all over theplace, but what does that mean to you
as someone who is in the data worldor trying to land their first data
job, are you going to be replaced?
For a career you're trying so hard to workinto and you can't even break into yet.

(01:09):
Is it going to be obsolete?
I actually got a message on LinkedIn thisweek that asked something very similar.
They said that they've been hearing moreand more about AI and ChatGPT 4 I came
across this newsletter the other day thatsaid that data analyst might be replaced.
And I begin to wonder about future jobsecurity for junior data analysts like me.
Simply because this is moving so quickly.

(01:31):
I just wonder what yourthoughts were on this.
So I thought I'd make this podcastepisode to kind of talk through
what I think about ChatGPT Uh, LLMs.
AI, everything in general.
Is it coming for you?
My answer is no.
My answer is no.
And the reason is, is AI is just a tool.

(01:52):
You know, we really thinkof AI is really scary.
Like these robots that couldpotentially take over the world.
And, you know, maybe it willbe that eventually, but right
now all AI is, is a hammer.
It still needs the humanto actually do something.
Now there are really coolthings like auto GBT.
If you've never heard of that before.
Pause the podcast, you can look it up.
I'm not the most well versed on it.

(02:13):
So I'm not going to try to explain it indepth in this episode, but basically it's
like where you have multiple AI agents.
So imagine chat GPT talkingto another chat CPT, which is
talking to another chat GPT.
And it can basically, insteadof having a human talk to
GBT it's chatty PT, talking to Chatsworth.
GPT, and it becomes alittle bit more autonomous.

(02:33):
I think there's another onecalled auto GPT, um, as well.
And these are basically talkingback and forth to one another,
a little bit more autonomously.
So it is like maybe becoming more of.
A self propelling tool.
But for the most part, AI is just a tool.
It's just like a hammer.
It's like a saw you stillneed a human to operate it.

(02:54):
So will our tasks change as dataanalysts and data practitioners?
Yes, probably as they always have.
I mean, imagine the data analysts beforecomputers were invented now, I don't know
if that was, if they were really a thingback then, probably not, but imagine
what they would be doing would be a lotdifferent than what we'd be doing today.

(03:14):
You know, for example, they'd bedoing a lot of hand calculations.
Maybe they'd be using that.
Like, what's that weirdinvention, like the Abacus, right.
To keep track of allthese different things.
And now we have Excel.
Now we have SQL Those aretools that did not exist.
Did you know, these people whothese mathematicians did, they
lose their job when Excel came out?

(03:34):
No.
Did their job nature change?
Yes, probably.
They probably started tohaving to use the tool.
So in my opinion, this isjust a hammer and everyone
should start using the hammer.
There's no reason whether you're trying toland your first data job or whether you're
an experienced data professional thatyou should not be using some form of AI.
You need to be otherwise, they'regoing to get left with the times.

(03:57):
This is a new tool.
It's going to be revolutionaryand you should feel enabled.
In fact, you should feel emboldenedby this because all of a sudden, the
barrier to break into data analyticshas even dropped a little bit further.
Because a lot of thetechnical requirements can be
fulfilled with CQL or sorry.
Can be fulfilled with chat, GPT and AI.

(04:20):
And what I mean by that is.
It's basically all, all chattybitchy and AI really is, is a
more effective Google, right?
Like in the past, if you didn'tknow how to do something in
CQL, you could Google it.
And within a few clicks, youcould probably find your answer.
Really I'll chat.
GPT is, is a more effective Google.
And I'm not even goingto say more effective.

(04:40):
I'm going to say faster, but it's notnecessarily guaranteed to be right.
A hundred percent of the time.
So you do have to be a little bitconcerned and worried about that.
But really we've beendoing this for years.
We've been posting stuff and questionson stack overflow and getting help.
We've been Googling stuff,finding different EHRs and finding
the answer inside of Google.
So really what I see chat GBTis coming into play is it's just

(05:04):
going to make us more effective.
It's a tool that's goingto make us more effective.
And for you, as someone who wantsto break into the data world, you
should feel really excited becausenow it's going to be a little bit
easier to break into the field.
You don't have to be memorizing all SQL.
You don't have to, you know, memorizeall this different statistics
stuff you could ask Chachi.
GPT and pretty reliably get an answer.
Right, but that is a little bit scary.

(05:25):
Cause every thinking, well,that makes me obsolete.
But once again, a tool hasto be wielded by a human.
And humans are really good atknowing when we should do tasks.
W how we should do this taskand what those tasks should be.
Now we can use AI.
To kind of expedite that wholejourney, the whole process.
But it still requires a good humanbrain to link the business to the AI.

(05:49):
It will not be the case in the future.
I think so.
We'll, we'll chat GBT and AI getbetter and need humans less probably.
But until that happens, let's not fret.
What's going to happen atmidnight when it's only 9:00 AM.
Right.
And we can get good at using AI.
We can get good at using chatty PT today.
And then we're going to have job security.

(06:10):
All right, we're goingto have job security.
So AI will not take your job,but a human that uses AI might.
And so to be future-proof allyou need to be is a human that
knows how to use AI really well.
And what does that mean for you?
Like what can you dotoday to get good at that?
I think you just go onto chatGBT and start playing around.
Start trying to ask different questions,you know, try to ask different SQL

(06:34):
questions or different Python questions,or maybe even some Excel questions.
And just start messing around.
All right.
You can kind of get a feel forwhat it can do and what it can't
do, what some limitations are,but don't be worried about it.
If you have never opened it upbefore, if you've never tried
doing data analytics on it.
I don't don't fret.
There's some tasks that Chatsybeauty is fantastic for.
And there's other tasks that Chatswoodbeauty is actually not very good at, for

(06:57):
example, if you S chat GPT to add, like,let's just say 3 million, 246,392 plus 7
million, 564,123 or something like that.
Jeff.
It's a simple math problem, right?
Computers are really good at that.

(07:17):
Judgey beauty will mostlikely get that problem wrong.
And the reason is.
It doesn't know how to do math.
It just knows how to readwhat math has been done.
And so it's usually when, if you, if youwere to put that in chat to PT right now,
they'll probably get the first numbers.
Right.
And the last numbers.
Right.
But like the hundred thousandswill probably be all jumbled up
because chatty BT has used writtenmath to understand when these

(07:42):
numbers are added to these numbers.
You know, then we should probably startwith these numbers and we should probably
end with these numbers, but it's actuallynot that good at doing the middle section.
So for instance, it's obviouslynot going to take the job in any
sort of large number arithmetic.
Now, computers are betterat humans than adding.
If we can tell the computer what we need,but that brings me to my next point.

(08:04):
Is that the bridge between the tech andthe domain or the tech in the business?
Is still going to belargely covered by humans.
Humans are what.
Humans are more capable to see what'sgoing on in the real world and relate
it to math related to statisticsrelated to data and make those
connections and also make those choices.

(08:26):
Right, because at the end of theday, humans, most of society is
still a human decision made society.
We're making business decisions.
You know, even when I was atExxon mobile, when we had AI
tools, they weren't really AI.
They were very data, sciencymachine learning tools.
It would suggest stuff, butit's still down to the human to
make those decisions overall.

(08:47):
Because once again, it's a tool it'snot going to replace us and less.
We don't use it at all.
So I encourage all of you guys to goplay with GPT, go test for yourself.
Go try it out.
Don't be afraid of it.
It's going to be okay.
Your job's not going anywhereand life's going to continue on.
That being said, if you want helpin your data journey landing,

(09:08):
that first data job hit me up.
I run a program calleddata analytics accelerator.
It's a 10 week bootcamp that willhelp you land your first data job.
Uh, by helping you build nineportfolio projects, learning the
most important skills and teachingyou how to network effectively with
recruiters, hiring managers and peers.
So that you can land that data job fast.
If you're interested in that you canclick on the link down below once again.

(09:30):
Thank you guys for listening to the show.
See you soon.