Paris, July 11 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) stated on Tuesday that over 25% of jobs within the OECD could potentially be automated as part of the forthcoming artificial intelligence revolution. Workers express concerns about the possibility of job loss due to AI.
The OECD is a coalition of 38 nations, primarily comprising affluent countries, alongside emerging economies such as Mexico and Estonia.
According to the OECD, there is currently limited evidence of AI significantly impacting employment. However, this may be attributed to the fact that the revolution is still in its nascent stages.
According to the 2023 Employment Outlook by the Paris-based organisation, approximately 27% of the labor force in OECD countries consists of jobs with the highest vulnerability to automation. Eastern European countries are identified as the most exposed in this regard.
The jobs at greatest risk of automation are those that require the utilization of more than 25 out of 100 skills and abilities that AI experts consider easily automatable.
Furthermore, based on a survey conducted by the OECD last year, three out of five workers expressed concerns about the possibility of losing their jobs to AI within the next decade. The survey encompassed 5,300 workers from 2,000 firms in the manufacturing and finance sectors across seven OECD countries.
The aforementioned survey was conducted prior to the remarkable rise of generative AI technologies such as ChatGPT.
Interestingly, despite concerns surrounding the introduction of AI, two-thirds of workers who are currently utilizing it reported that automation has actually reduced the risks and monotony associated with their jobs.
During a news conference, OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann emphasized that the ultimate impact of AI on workers and whether its benefits will outweigh the risks will rely on the policy measures we implement.