Technological optimism or automation anxiety? mapping discourses on data scientists job displacement by AI

Abstract

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence caused widespread public discussions concerning its benefits and risks. AI's impact on jobs is one of the central topics in this debate: while some argue that AI leads to workforce displacement, others adopt the augmentation perspective, considering it an opportunity to enhance human capabilities rather than replace them. This research aims to discover the perceptions and sentiments of data scientists - AI practitioners - regarding AI's ability to replace them. To reach this goal, 784 posts shared on LinkedIn - a platform for professional development and networking - were analysed. With LDA topic modeling and zero-shot sentiment analysis, social media discourses around data scientists' job displacement were mapped. The results demonstrate that specialists consider AI an augmenting technology that does not entirely disrupt their profession but nudges them to upskill and evolve. Simultaneously, a few pessimistic viewpoints associated with fear of layoffs and AI agents' functionality were revealed.