Technology driven societal changes is the crucial key to economic growth. Artificial Intelligence is a powerful digital automation tool that has eased work processes as well as our lifestyle. 

Just like there are two sides of the same coin, Artificial Intelligence is also divided into two views. One segment is thrilled to have AI as a blessing in disguise, i.e. to solve issues and complete business processes. The other segment is critical of using AI and automation, fearing its impact on employment.

Although Artificial Intelligence has improved our lifestyle dramatically, there are concerns related to its impact on jobs and the workforce. AI technology is keenly criticized for reducing jobs and increasing unemployment in the society. Different sectors of the industry are using AI to automate their tasks and save time for important work, operations and client handling. Tasks that are tedious and need monotonous feeding of the data are replaced by the technology. 

There is no doubt that the advancement of Artificial Intelligence has led machines to outperform humans and boost productivity.

Technology and Artificial Intelligence

Technological change is a key driver of economic growth. However, the invention, diffusion and effective use of new technology are in turn likely to be influenced by other factors, including economic conditions, institutions, and social conditions.

In today’s time of technological advancement, artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning has almost found its place in each and every sector. With this increasing adoption of artificial intelligence, a major concern that comes into people’s minds is…

  • Will AI replace human jobs?
  • What will be the impact of AI on jobs
  • Will there be fewer jobs for humans due to automation? 
  • These questions have been making the rounds for a very long time.

Introduction of new technology in any field and of any kind has always had an impact on the labor market and in the same way AI will also have an impact on the jobs. It is believed that AI is going to replace humans in all mundane jobs like data entry, data classification and some jobs related to these tasks like customer service and content analysis. Although it is also said that the use of AI will have its own benefits. 

Let’s try to analyse the impact of AI on jobs.

What Studies Say

The substitution of employees by artificial intelligence and robots is a strongly debated topic.

According to a study by PwC, the global GDP is going to get a boost of around $15 trillion by the year 2030 due to artificial intelligence. However, as an impact of AI, the analysis suggested that there is a risk of a 3% decrease in jobs due to automation by early 2020s. This impact of AI could increase to a 30% decrease in jobs due to automation by the mid-2030s. Along with this, there is a risk that 44% workers with low education will lose jobs due AI by the mid-2030s.

McKinsey Global Institute also said that there will be a huge impact of AI on jobs particularly those held by women. According to the institute, around 40 to 160 million women worldwide will have to change their present jobs due to the impact of AI.

In another report released by the World Economic Forum, it has been highlighted that there will definitely be an impact of AI on jobs and it is likely to replace humans in around 75 million jobs globally by 2022. But the report also highlighted a positive point that around 133 million new jobs will be created worldwide due to AI by 2022.

There are a number of other reports and surveys that claim a definite impact of AI on employment.

Can AI and Humans work together?

Definitely, AI and humans can and will work together, and this is the only way to deal with the situation. We know that AI will displace jobs but it will also generate new jobs. So the impact of AI will not only be negative but also be positive like any other technology.

Let’s take the example of transportation. When automatic transportation came into the world and made horse carts, bullock carts obsolete, it resulted in job loss, but in turn created new jobs in manufacturing. Similar will be the case of AI, it will replace humans in many jobs but will also open doors for new kinds of jobs for humans.

Whether there will be a negative impact, or just a shift of jobs is yet to be seen over the next decade depending on the advancements of AI.

 

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