It is now only a matter of time: artificial intelligence is set to revolutionize the global economy but risks overwhelming a large part of the jobs around the world. 40% in emerging economies - from China to India to Basile - 26% in low-income countries, and up to 60% in the most advanced economies, from Europe to the United States. Not only that: AI is almost certainly set to increase social inequalities and widen the gap between richer and poorer countries.
This time the warning comes from the International Monetary Fund, with a report launched on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos, at a time when the debate on the use of applications such as ChatGtp and the use of robots in the production sector is heated. The study warns the international community of the dangers associated with the uncontrolled development of AI. And there is only one imperative: to put the issue at the center of the global political agenda and act quickly to mitigate the impact that new technologies will have especially on the most vulnerable categories of workers, with dozens of professionals at risk of disappearing forever.
The report therefore indicates the workers most at risk, those destined to be wiped out by the advance of artificial intelligence and whose tasks will be completely replaced by new technologies: see operators in the telemarketing sector, or those in call centers, but also - the study reads - dishwashers or artists. All those figures, in short, "with low complementarity with artificial intelligence". On the other hand, "highly complementary" professions, such as surgeons, judges, lawyers, are safe: all figures that make use of and can benefit from the support of artificial intelligence but that do not risk being replaced by the ability of new technologies to reproduce tasks hitherto linked exclusively to human intelligence.
"About half of the jobs in which AI operates can benefit greatly in terms of productivity growth," says International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, "but for the other half, AI-related applications could effectively replace the tasks currently performed by humans, with the effect of reducing the demand for labor and leading to lower wages and reduced hiring. And in the most extreme cases - the alarm of the head of the Washington institute Georgieva - some of these jobs could disappear altogether".
The International Monetary Fund's expert report also points out that "countries' choices to define AI property rights, as well as redistributive and other fiscal policies, will ultimately determine its impact on the distribution of income and wealth." "It is crucial for all countries to put in place comprehensive social safety nets and offer retraining programmes for the most vulnerable workers.
And in doing so, we will be able to achieve a transition to more inclusive artificial intelligence, protecting living standards and cutting inequalities."
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