DAVOS, Switzerland – Almost 40 percent of jobs around the world could be affected by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), a trend which is likely to deepen inequality, according to the International Monetary Fund.
In a Sunday blog post, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva called for governments to establish social safety nets and offer retraining programs to counter the impact of AI.
“In most scenarios, AI will likely worsen overall inequality, a troubling trend that policymakers must proactively address to prevent the technology from further stoking social tensions,” she wrote ahead of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, where the topic is set to be high on the agenda.
As AI continues to be adapted by more workers and businesses, it’s expected to both help and hurt the human workforce, Georgieva noted.
Echoing previous warnings from other experts, Georgieva said the effects were expected to be felt more deeply in advanced economies than emerging markets, partly because white-collar workers are seen to be more at risk than manual laborers.
In more developed economies, for example, as much as 60% of jobs could be impacted by AI. Approximately half of those may benefit from how AI promotes higher productivity, she said.
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