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April 11, 2025
Over the last few years, Artificial Intelligence has been a topic of serious discussion in society. While some view it as a technology capable of improving our lives, others have concerns that it will lead to job losses and manipulation of information.
In fact, the term Artificial Intelligence was first coined in 1956 by John McCarthy at a Dartmouth College conference, and in the same year Allen Newell and team created the first program performing automated reasoning called the Logical Theorist, which successfully proved 38 of the 52 theorems in Principia Mathematica. Although it failed to live up to initial expectations, leading to a decline in interest and funding, with the development of technology, machine learning algorithms, access to large amountsof data and of course, the understanding of the human mind, AI began its renaissance finding application in a number of industries.
Major technology companies such as Google, Microsoft, IBM, Meta and Amazon are now successfully integrating AI to improve their products - voice assistants, facial recognition, content generation, personalisation, developing new systems and applications. In 2025, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Google are expected to invest more than 300 billion in the field of AI, indicating the companies' attitudes towards incorporating it into workflow and work environments.
In addition to the products on offer, the useof AI will also lead to a restructuring of the workforce, automating a numberof routine tasks, which in turn will lead to higher productivity at a lowercost in a shorter timeframe.
And while positionsinvolving “Analytics” and “Data Entry”, “Technical Support” or ‘Automation’ could be performed by AI, the market is increasinglylooking for “Ethics Specialists”, “Cyber Security Specialists”, “AI Instructorsand Consultants”, and “AI Developers”. According to a Grafton report, professionals with AI skills increased 9-fold on the social network LinkedIn between 2016 and 2023.Again, the same report also indicates a 21-fold increase in job postingsrequiring AI.
Will AI impact the job market in Bulgaria? Undoubtedly!
The number of companies developing AI has grown by nearly 40% in the last year (900 in Central and Eastern Europe, and 80 of them in Bulgaria).
These include SSTrader, which developed the world's first chatbot for sports prediction and analysis; Phar Vision Capital- AI for financial market analysis; Smart Soft Healthcare, which uses AI technologies to make more accurate MRI diagnoses of spinal diseases, Trans metrics, which offers innovative AI solutions for the transportation and logistics industry.
As abroad, so in Bulgaria AI will lead to a transformation of job positions changing the skills in demand, and this in turn will lead to the need to retrain employees in case they want to remain competitive. Some of the leading universities and academies in the country offer various AI courses in their programs to help develop future professionals, as employers will continue to look for ways to optimize costs, which AI can help with.
The Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, for example, has a master’s program in Artificial Intelligence, Telerik Academy offers Gen AI for Developers (Essentials) and Adopting AI in organizations: strategy and execution, and SoftUni has a comprehensive program on applying AI in everyday life, learning the latest AI tools.
Rapid and successful implementation of AI services will allow businesses to be more productive, more competitive and more profitable. AI allows automation and optimization of processes, which will allow them to save money that they can reinvest in the company by opening additional positions that can contribute furthermore to the company's development and being cost-effective providing new and/or more suitable solutions to customers, which is a sure way to maintain its position in the market.
However, although a powerful tool, AI will certainly not be able to replace the need for developers in the sector. One of the significant reasons for this is that it cannot understand the business logic and architecture behind the products, because it’s works using defined patterns, and also that it cannot offer the required expertise in emergency situations. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the IT field in Bulgaria, with more and more people looking for development in this particular industry. Currently, over 80% of the trainees at one of the country's leading academies – Telerik Academy-are retraining, coming from another industry.
All current and future positions that will develop in the service of AI will bring additional dynamics to the labour market that will manifest in several aspects- reassignment of professionals to more “trending” roles, shortages of staff in key positions for the sector, creating a serious imbalance between supply and demand in the labour market, increased competition for certain positions or retraining and the need for new skills.
But what does AI mean for candidates? On the one hand there are all the new positions and opportunities that are ahead, but on the other, there are the new demands, the need for strong technical skills, adaptability and flexibility. To be prepared for the “new” market, candidates should actively learn and upgrade their skills and qualifications, because one thing is certain.
AI is here and it is not going away, and whether it is a threat, or a blessing is up to us, the consumers. Used responsibly and ethically it can improve our efficiency and quality of life in a variety of areas. Of course, like any technological innovation, it brings with it a host of benefits as well as various challenges, but if we manage to adapt it properly to our reality, we will be able to make the most of its potential.