UN Report Suggests AI Will Enhance, Not Replace, Jobs
According to a UN study released on Monday, Artificial Intelligence is expected to enhance jobs rather than eliminate them, easing concerns about its potential impact on employment.
Launched in November, ChatGPT, a generative AI platform that can handle complex tasks on command, was seen as a technological landmark that heralded a potentially dramatic shift in the workplace.
But a recent study by the United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO) looking at the potential impact of this and other platforms on the quantity and quality of jobs suggests that most jobs and industries are only partially exposed to automation.
Most of them are “more likely to be supplemented than replaced by the latest wave of generative AI, such as ChatGPT,” the ILO said.
“Therefore, the biggest impact of this technology is likely not to be the destruction of jobs, but rather potential changes in the quality of jobs, especially work intensity and autonomy.”
In contrast, the study highlighted that the impact of technology varies widely across occupations and regions, while warning that women are more likely than men to see their work being affected.
It found that office work was the most technologically exposed job category: almost a quarter of the jobs were considered highly exposed and more than half of the jobs were considered medium.
In other occupational groups, including managers and technicians, only a small proportion of jobs were found to be highly exposed, while about a quarter had moderate exposure, the ILO said.
The analysis, on the other hand, showed that higher income countries would experience the greatest effects of automation, as white-collar and paraprofessional jobs account for a significant share of the division of labour.
It found that 5.5 percent of total employment in high-income countries was potentially exposed to the automating effects of generative AI, compared to just 0.4 percent of employment in low-income countries.
At the same time, the study found that women’s share of employment potentially affected by automation was more than twice that of men, as women are overrepresented in office work, especially in high- and middle-income countries.
While Monday’s report showed significant differences in the potential impact of AI-induced job losses between wealthier and poorer countries, it noted that the potential for gains was roughly the same across countries.
This suggests that “with the right policies, this new wave of technological change could offer significant benefits to developing countries,” the ILO said.
However, it warned that while the increase could indicate a positive development, such as the automation of routine tasks to free up time for more interesting work, “it could also be implemented in a way that limits the functionality of workers or accelerates the intensity of work”.
Countries should therefore design policies that support “orderly, fair and consultative” change, the report’s authors said, stressing that “the outcomes of technological transition are not predetermined.”
