AI may actually create more jobs than it eliminates, according to the World Economic Forum‘s (WEF) most recent report on the future of employment.
The possibility that artificial intelligence could improve the job market defies early reservations about the technology and is consistent with research published since ChatGPT‘s public preview launch in November 2022, which is recognized as the catalyst for the AI boom.
In addition to speculating about the possibility of a net job increase, WEF’s analysis examines the shifting labor market and the changing need for skills.
According to official WEF documents, artificial intelligence would result in “net job creation [and] new job creation.”
More employment will be created by AI than destroyed
In spite of previous claims by AI and machine learning specialist Tak Lo, that AI will bring about job loses. Lo’s doubters would be pleased to see the contradicting evidence from the WEF.
The analysis projected that AI would eliminate 92 million jobs by the end of the decade, but the creation of 170 million jobs will lead to a net creation of 78 million positions. The total number of new positions that are anticipated to be generated is around 14% of all jobs that are now in existence.
“As we enter 2025, the landscape of work continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Transformational breakthroughs, particularly in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), are reshaping industries and tasks across all sectors,” said WEF Managing Director Saadia Zahidi.
According to the report, clerical and secretarial jobs will become obsolete due to automation, but it also highlights the importance of AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity, and technological literacy skills—the latter of which are predicted to develop at the quickest rate.
Conversely, manual labor occupations including farming, construction, and truck driving are among the safest. Software and application developers appear to be the knowledge workers least vulnerable to the effects of AI.
Additionally, employers continue to seek out employees with traditional skill sets, such as leadership, social influence, flexibility and agility, resilience, and analytical thinking.
The WEF anticipates that between now and 2030, two-fifths (39%) of the existing skill sets will be “transformed or become outdated.”
According to WEF’s research, 70% of businesses expect to hire AI professionals, and more than three out of four (77%) enterprises plan to adopt retraining programs to help their employees. This underscores the significance of upskilling in the AI field.
