TOKYO - A Tokyo exhibition is offering a look at 50 possible professions that could emerge in the AI age, from skin bacteria pharmacists who analyze microbes on the skin to ad walkers who use electronic textiles to deliver advertising while moving through the city.
The exhibition, The Future Jobs Exhibition 2045, opened on June 18 at Takanawa Gateway City in Tokyo's Minato Ward. It introduces professions that do not yet exist but could become part of daily life as technology develops.
Among the proposed jobs is a skin bacteria pharmacist, a specialist who analyzes the balance of microorganisms and bacteria living on the skin to choose the most suitable skincare. Another is an ad walker, who wears clothing made with electronic fibers and distributes effective advertising simply by walking around.
Visitors said the exhibits made the future feel close. "It is interesting to see analog ideas fused with digital technology. Wearing a cape with moving images is already possible, so this could be implemented," one visitor said. Another said, "I was very surprised because it was not just imagination but something that felt real."
The exhibition also includes jobs that visitors can experience firsthand. One attraction, Gesture Orchestra, allows participants to wear special gloves and create music that can only be produced in that moment by moving their hands and fingers.
The exhibition was organized by office furniture maker Okamura, which used about 6,000 patents it has acquired to consider what kinds of jobs might emerge beyond those technologies.
While some observers warn that advances in AI could take away existing jobs, the exhibition presents a more optimistic vision of a future in which technology expands human potential.
Naofumi Sato, executive officer at Okamura, said the company wants to use the idea of future professions as a starting point to create new solutions and new value. "Rather than thinking that human jobs will disappear or that people will have nothing to do, if 20 years from now we have a society where people can truly live vibrant lives, then jobs like these may exist, become reality, and allow everyone to live happily," Sato said.
Source: FNN
