Artificial intelligence may replace a lot of humans in the workforce, but it will also create many job opportunities.
Recognising this, the University of Newcastle will hold a free public webinar on Thursday, titled Jobs of the Future: Computing and Information Technology.
Senior lecturer in computer science and software engineering Alexandre Mendes will be among the speakers.
"I will show the amazing future we have for computing. I say that in a truthful manner. It's incredible what's going on right now," Dr Mendes said.
"If you read the news, every day and week, there is something big. If you follow these big companies like Google and Tesla, they're investing huge amounts of money to build this technology [artificial intelligence such as autonomous vehicles]."
In the past five years, artificial intelligence has received a "big boost".
"All sorts of things will be impacted by this new wave of knowledge that is coming through," he said.
The webinar will outline the skills needed for people to gain jobs in this field.
Dr Mendes, who conducts research in the artificial intelligence field, said it involved "using computers as a tool to solve complex problems".
Automation and artificial intelligence would "replace quite a bit of the workforce in the next few decades".
"That's just like what the industrial revolution did in the 18th century," he said.
To get jobs in the field, people will require a degree in areas such as computer science or software engineering.
"In terms of skills, you need computer programming. You need to be good at maths," he said.
More general skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking - how to analyse information - will also be required.
Dr Mendes said students don't necessarily need to be naturally talented at maths to succeed in the field.
"In many cases, it's not because you were born to do this, but you had a good influence, a good teacher or a parent inspired you. I think it's more about inspiration than being born with that kind of gift," he said.
The webinar will be held on Thursday from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. Register online.
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