In advanced economies like the United States, as much as 60% of jobs are exposed to the impacts of generative AI, according to a major new analysis by the International Monetary Fund. About half of exposed jobs are expected to be negatively impacted—with AI performing key tasks workers previously would have done and potentially suppressing wages and hiring. In extreme cases, AI could completely wipe out jobs. The other half of exposed jobs, however, are expected to benefit from AI by complementing work done by humans and increasing productivity.
Why it matters: Everybody is trying to read the tea leaves on AI’s impact on jobs and economic opportunity. And what the IMF says carries weight with policymakers worldwide.
The organization warns that the gains from AI are most likely to accrue to already high-income workers. “In most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, a troubling trend that policymakers must proactively address to prevent the technology from further stoking social tensions,” writes Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF.
Georgieva writes that it’s crucial for countries to beef up social safety nets and provide robust retraining options for vulnerable workers.