2024-04-14 13:55:07
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will lead to layoffs at thousands of companies over the next five years. This is indicated by the results of a new survey, which was conducted among 2,000 CEOs of companies from all over the world, reports BTA.
The study was carried out by the Swiss recruitment company Adecco Group and the consulting firm Oxford Economics. A significant proportion of CEOs who participated (41 percent) indicated that they expect to start hiring fewer employees as AI technologies take over some of their duties.
“Artificial intelligence is emerging as an increasingly important factor exerting pressure on the labor market,” said Adecco Group CEO Dennis McWell in a statement.
“Companies need to do more to reskill their employees. They need to shift them[to non-AI tasks]to avoid unnecessary disruption in this technological transition,” says McWell.
From computer programs to media publications to literary essays, generative systems based on AI technologies can quickly create a variety of content. Although this technological process is far from perfect, it has already become a key factor in the development of some industries and professions, notes the BBC.
The CEOs who took part in the survey by “Adecco Group” and “Oxford Economics” lead companies from 18 sectors of the economies of 9 countries. These include the energy, retail and automotive industries in the US, Canada, Germany and Japan. These directors supervise both administrative staff and workers, CNN points out.
A significant number of company bosses (46 percent) said they would redeploy their employees to other departments if artificial intelligence technologies began to fulfill their job duties.
About two-thirds of CEOs surveyed said they would rather hire people who know how to use AI in their jobs than train their current employees to use the technology.
Artificial intelligence is changing the job market
The study, conducted by Adecco Group and Oxford Economics, paints a bleaker picture than a study presented by the World Economic Forum last year.
More than 800 companies from all over the world participated in it. The results showed that a quarter of them expect artificial intelligence to lead to job losses. Half of these firms predicted that AI would create new jobs.
Technologies to analyze big data, to counter negative climate change and to improve cyber security are expected to be key to creating new jobs. This is stated in an analysis of the World Economic Forum on the development of artificial intelligence.
However, this is of little consolation to the employees and workers who have lost their jobs to AI.
Some technology companies have already announced that they have made layoffs as their job duties will be performed by AI-based technologies. Among them are the companies that run the file storage service Dropbox and the language learning app Duolingo.
In March 2023, experts at the American investment bank “Goldman Sachs” (Goldman Sachs) announced the results of their study. They have shown that platforms for generative artificial intelligence, including the chatbot “ChatGPT” (ChatGPT), can cause “serious tremors” in the labor market, reported CBS.
Analysis of the US and European labor markets has shown that two-thirds of jobs could be automated, at least to some extent.
In most of the occupations at risk in the US, artificial intelligence could partially replace between 25 percent and 50 percent of employees, the analysts concluded. They point out that globally, up to 300 million jobs could be affected by the advent of artificial intelligence. But its use could also boost labor productivity and “over time” lead to an increase in global gross domestic product of up to 7 percent, the Goldman Sachs report said. It states that some jobs will be more affected by AI than others. For example, occupations requiring heavy physical labor are less likely to be significantly affected.
In the US, the largest share of jobs that could most quickly be automated are in support administrative activities in the private and public sectors (46 percent), legal (44 percent), followed by positions in architecture and engineering activities (37 percent). In the financial business sector, 35 percent of jobs may be replaced, according to Goldman Sachs experts.
Data for Europe paint a similar picture. The most affected by artificial intelligence may be work positions in auxiliary administrative activities (45 percent), and the least – those related to crafts (4 percent).