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Opportunities for younger and highly skilled workers could actually increase rather than disappear, thanks to AI — but the same can’t be said for wages. Half Point Images—Getty Images
Since the explosive launch of ChatGPT, there has been a fear among workers that they will not be able to compete with AI, leading to mass unemployment. However, a new paper has suggested that such fears may be completely unfounded.
Actually, the European Central BankHis research predicted that AI will indeed create jobs, and that any reports suggesting otherwise “may be greatly exaggerated.”
After evaluating nine years of data collected in 16 European countries, the ECB found that low- and medium-skilled jobs were largely unaffected by the tech boom.
Between 2011 and 2019, during which there were many technological breakthroughs in language processing, image recognition and algorithm-based recommendations, the researchers found “no evidence of software replacing common, average-skill tasks.”
“The relationship between software exposure and employment changes is null for the pooled sample,” the paper notes.
In addition, highly skilled jobs in fields affected by artificial intelligence could increase by up to 4.3%, at least in Europe.
However, while AI may not steal your job, the ECB has predicted it could come for your wages. The study concluded that its data “suggest neutral to slightly negative effects” on workers’ earnings.
Job seekers already know that AI is where the jobs are
For job hunters, the ECB’s findings may not come as much of a surprise—they’re a step ahead of the central bank and are specifically applying AI-related roles to future-proof their careers.
Over the past two years, LinkedIn jobs that mention AI have received 17% higher application growth than jobs that don’t because, says Erin Scruggs, vice president of global talent acquisition at the networking platform, “candidates they’re smart.”
“They show that they want to go where the opportunities are,” he added.
As former Reddit CEO Yishan Wong said Luck Such roles aren’t just for the tech-savvy — most workers can get into AI fields because it doesn’t really require “a huge amount of technical skill,” he insisted.
But leaders can’t agree on whether AI will displace or support workers
Although workers, Wong and the ECB believe the future of work is bright thanks to artificial intelligence, leaders are still uncertain.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs has estimated that artificial intelligence could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs worldwide in the coming years.
One CEO, Suumit Shah, the CEO of India-based Duukan, has already begun replacing 90% of his workforce with artificial intelligence, calling the productivity hack “a no-brainer.”
Even IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has predicted that while “repetitive white-collar jobs” will be automated first—but, he disputes that this means humanity will be unemployed.
“People confuse productivity with job displacement,” he told the of Fortune CEO Initiative Conference.
As an example, he points to the jobs created by the invention of the internet. “In 1995 no one thought there would be five million web designers—there are,” Krishna said.
Meanwhile, Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates optimistically flirts with the idea of a 3-day week where “machines can make all the food and stuff and we don’t have to work so hard.”
Ultimately, once leaders agree on whether AI will displace or support workers, as the ECB paper points out, it will have the biggest impact on job prospects: “The outcome for jobs depends on whether AI-enabled technologies will replace or complement work.”