AI likely to augment rather than destroy jobs: UN study | Inquirer Business

AI likely to augment rather than destroy jobs: UN study

08:44 AM August 22, 2023

GENEVA, Switzerland  -Artificial Intelligence is more likely to augment jobs than to destroy them, a UN study indicated on Monday, at a time of growing anxiety over the potential impact of the technology.

The launch in November of the generative AI platform ChatGPT, which is capable of handling complex tasks on command, was seen as a tech landmark foreshadowing a potentially dramatic transformation of the workplace.

But a fresh study from the United Nations’ International Labor Organization (ILO) examining the potential effect of that and other platforms on job quantity and quality suggests that most jobs and industries are only partially exposed to automation.

Article continues after this advertisement

Most are “more likely to be complemented rather than substituted by the latest wave of Generative AI, such as ChatGPT”, the ILO said.

FEATURED STORIES

“Therefore, the greatest impact of this technology is likely to not be job destruction but rather the potential changes to the quality of jobs, notably work intensity and autonomy.”

Effects vary

The study meanwhile highlighted that the effects of technology would vary greatly between professions and regions, while it warned women were more likely than men to see their jobs affected.

Article continues after this advertisement

It found that clerical work was the category of jobs with the greatest technological exposure, with nearly a quarter of tasks considered highly exposed and more than half of tasks having medium-level exposure.

Article continues after this advertisement

In other occupational groups, including managers and technicians, only a small share of tasks was found to be highly exposed, while around a quarter had medium exposure levels, the ILO said.

Article continues after this advertisement

The analysis meanwhile indicated that higher-income countries would experience the greatest effects from automation due to the important share of clerical and para-professional jobs in the job distribution there.

It found that a full 5.5 percent of total employment in high-income countries was potentially exposed to the automating effects of generative AI, whereas only 0.4 percent of employment in low-income countries was.

Article continues after this advertisement

At the same time, the study found that the share of employment potentially affected by automation was more than twice as high for women as for men, due to women’s overrepresentation in clerical work, especially in high- and middle-income countries.

Benefits for developing countries

While Monday’s report showed significant differences in the potential impact on AI-generated job losses between wealthy and poorer countries, it found that the potential for augmentation was nearly equal across countries.

This suggests that “with the right policies in place, this new wave of technological transformation could offer important benefits for developing countries”, the ILO said.

It cautioned though that while augmentation could indicate positive developments, like automating routine tasks to free up time for more engaging work, “it can also be implemented in a way that limits workers’ agency or accelerates work intensity”.

Countries should therefore design policies to support an “orderly, fair and consultative” shift, the report authors said, stressing that “outcomes of the technological transition are not pre-determined”.

RELATED STORIES:

27% of jobs at high risk from AI revolution, says OECD

AI could replace 80% of jobs ‘in next few years’: expert

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

‘AI will not eradicate jobs. People with the knowledge of AI will take jobs’ – data expert

TAGS: Artificial Intelligence, ILO, jobs

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.