Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Jobs

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is currently one of the most popular topics being currently debated in the industry, academia, and the press. The main questions raised regarding this topic are whether the Artificial Intelligence shall lead to the unemployment of millions of people or it would be an opportunity to create new job opportunities for millions across the globe.

Many express concern and fear about the impact of artificial intelligence on our future, and with good reason. A recent report from Forrester predicts that by 2021, intelligent agents and related robots will have eliminated a net 6% of jobs, which means that millions would be unemployed.

However, on the opposite side, if we look back on history, it seems reasonable to conclude that fears and concerns regarding AI and automation are understandable but ultimately unwarranted. The advancements and technological innovations led to the creation of additional job opportunities and not the opposite.



From their part, the companies that make and use workforce-management software acknowledge these concerns but say machines are no substitute for human judgment and ability to manage interpersonal relations. Instead, they say their software speeds up administrative work and uses data to help human managers improve decisions they previously made only by drawing upon gut instinct and experience.

Despite these fears and concerns, every technological shift has ended up creating more jobs than were destroyed. When particular tasks are automated, becoming cheaper and faster, you need more human workers to do the other tasks in the process that haven’t been automated.

 

The Business Lobby Team