Artificial intelligence is expected to replace more positions over the next five years, a new survey says, as 41% of employers worldwide plan to downsize and automate certain tasks.
The World Economic Forum asked hundreds of large companies about their goals. In its latest report, released Wednesday, 77% said they were planning to reskill and upskill their existing workers between 2025 and 2030 to work alongside AI, CNN reported.
But unlike in previous years, the report did not say that most technologies, including AI, were expected to be “a net positive” for job numbers, per CNN.
“Advances in AI and renewable energy are reshaping the (labor) market — driving an increase in demand for many technology or specialist roles while driving a decline for others, such as graphic designers,” the WEF said in a news release.
Other positions expected to be cut in the coming years include postal service clerks, executive secretaries and payroll clerks.
There is more demand for AI skills. Nearly 70% of companies are planning to hire new workers with skills to design AI tools and enhancements, the survey said, and 62% plan to recruit more people with skills to better work alongside AI.
AI allows machines to perform tasks that humans have typically handled. Voice assistants like Siri and Alexa are more recent examples of AI.
The fear that AI poses a threat to some categories of jobs isn't unfounded, The Associated Press reported. But the White House Council of Economic Advisers said last August it found “little evidence that AI will negatively impact overall employment.’’
Nick Bunker, an economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, told The Associated Press he thinks AI “will affect many, many jobs — maybe every job indirectly to some extent. But I don’t think it’s going to lead to, say, mass unemployment."
"We have seen other big technological events in our history, and those didn’t lead to a large rise in unemployment," Bunker said. "Technology destroys but also creates. There will be new jobs that come about.’’
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