IMF Claims AI Will Eliminate 40% of Jobs and Increase Inequality

An report released today by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects that artificial intelligence would have an impact on about forty percent of all jobs.

According to Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, “AI will likely worsen overall inequality in most scenarios.”

Policymakers should address this “troubling trend,” according to Ms. Georgieva, in order to “prevent the technology from further stoking social tensions.”

The rise in popularity of AI has drawn attention to both its advantages and disadvantages.

According to the IMF, advanced economies are projected to see a higher percentage of jobs—roughly 60%—affected by AI. For the most part, workers may anticipate increased productivity as a result of the integration of AI.

In other cases, AI will be able to carry out important jobs that people currently do. This might result in a decrease in the need for workers, which would have an impact on salaries or possibly lead to the elimination of jobs.

However, according to IMF projections, the technology will only impact 26% of occupations in low-income nations.

It is consistent with a 2023 Goldman Sachs analysis that predicted AI may replace 300 million full-time jobs, but it also suggested that increased productivity could lead to the creation of new jobs.

In November, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that school changes would increase skills, thus people shouldn’t worry at all about how AI could affect jobs.

According to Georgieva, “many of these countries don’t have the infrastructure or skilled workforces to harness the benefits of AI, raising the risk that over time the technology could worsen inequality among nations” .

In general, younger and wealthier workers can experience a disproportionate pay boost as a result of AI adoption.

According to the IMF, older and lower-income workers may lag behind.

“It is crucial for countries to establish comprehensive social safety nets and offer retraining programmes for vulnerable workers,” said Georgieva. “In doing so, we can make the AI transition more inclusive, protecting livelihoods and curbing inequality.”

As world leaders in business and politics convene in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, the IMF has released its findings.

Talk about AI has increased after the release of ChatGPT and other similar apps.

Globally, there is more legislation pertaining to technology. The world’s first comprehensive laws regulating the use of artificial intelligence were tentatively agreed upon last month by authorities from the European Union.

The AI Act recommendations will go to a vote in the European Parliament early in the year, but no laws will be passed until at least 2025.

China, the UK, and the US have not yet released their own AI policies.