- AI will displace 92 million workers, but create 170 new roles
- Administrative and secretarial functions are at greatest risk of displacement
- New skills to learn include AI, big data, networking and cybersecurity.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released its latest report on the future of jobs, stating that AI could actually create more jobs than it destroys.
The view that artificial intelligence could be beneficial for the labor market runs counter to initial concerns about the technology and echoes the findings of other studies that have been published since ChatGPT’s soft public launch in November. 2022, which is credited with starting the AI boom.
The WEF report not only suggests that there could be a net increase in employment, but also explores the changing landscape and evolution of skills demand.
AI will create more jobs than it destroys
Recently, Tak Lo, an expert in artificial intelligence and machine learning, told us that artificial intelligence will lead to “net job creation.” [and] creation of new jobs”, but the official WEF documentation confirming this should be music to the ears of skeptics.
By the end of the decade, the report predicted that AI will displace 92 million jobs; however, the creation of 170 million jobs will result in a net creation of 78 million jobs. The total number of new positions to be created is equivalent to approximately 14% of current total employment.
“As we enter 2025, the job landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Transformative advances, particularly in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), are reshaping industries and tasks across sectors,” said WEF Director General Saadia Zahidi.
The report reveals a heavy emphasis on artificial intelligence and big data, networking and cybersecurity, and technological literacy skills, which are said to be the fastest growing, while predicting the demise of administrative and secretarial roles as a result of automation.
On the other hand, some of the more secure roles include manual labor, such as farmers, laborers, and truck drivers. As for knowledge workers, software and application developers seem to be the safest from the impacts of AI.
Employers also continue to look for workers with traditional skills, such as analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility, leadership and social influence.
To that point, the WEF expects two-fifths (39%) of current skills to be “transformed or obsolete” by 2030.
Looking ahead, WEF research suggests that more than three in four (77%) companies are planning to implement retraining programs to support their workers, while 70% intend to hire AI specialists, which highlights the importance of improving skills in that area.
