Recent advancements in AI have made a big impression on the world, with many marvelling at the extraordinary capabilities of machines to perform complex tasks with accuracy and speed.
As AI continues to evolve, however, it poses a potential threat to many jobs in various industries, raising concerns about its impact on the global workforce. A new report by Goldman Sachs predicts that generative AI may affect up to 300 million jobs.
Generative AI systems such as #ChatGPT to affect 300 million jobs in the US and Europe. Lawyers and administrative staff would be among those at greatest risk of becoming redundant, according to Goldman Sachs.#GPT pic.twitter.com/naMDSPVng3
— Ravi Prakash Kumar (@RaviPksThakur) March 27, 2023
“If generative AI delivers on its promised capabilities, the labor market could face significant disruption,” stated the report.
There is a lot of uncertainty about generative AI’s potential, but it can produce human-like content and help machines communicate with people, which some argue could have a significant negative impact on the economy.
“Using data on occupational tasks in both the US and Europe, we find that roughly two-thirds of current jobs are exposed to some degree of AI automation, and that generative AI could substitute up to one-fourth of current work,” says the report.
Goldman Sachs’ estimates “suggest that generative AI could expose the equivalent of 300m full-time jobs to automation.”
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While AI is expected to have a considerable impact on the labor market, most jobs and industries will only be partially affected by automation and are therefore more likely to be complemented rather than replaced by AI.
White collar jobs are vulnerable
The bank’s analysts estimate that around 7% of US jobs could be substituted by AI; 63% could be complemented by it while the remaining 30% would remain unaffected.
“The boost to global labor productivity could also be economically significant, and we estimate that AI could eventually increase annual global GDP by 7%,” the report states.
Big tech companies like Microsoft, Alibaba, Baidu, and Google are investing heavily in AI. Perhaps unsurprisingly, white collar jobs are expected to be affected the most by the technology.
Goldman predicts that 25% of all tasks performed in the US and Europe could be automated by AI, based on a study that found 60% of the workforce operates in jobs that didn’t exist in 1940.
Office and administrative support positions (46%), legal posts (44%), and architecture and engineering jobs (37%) are the most vulnerable in the US to so-called AI “task replacement.”
UK seeks responsible use of AI
Meanwhile in the UK, the Sunak government has set out plans to regulate artificial intelligence with new guidelines on “responsible use,” reports the BBC.
The government says AI contributed £3.7bn ($5.6bn) to the UK economy in 2022, calling it a “technology of tomorrow.” However, concerns have been raised about the potential risks AI could pose to employment and security, as well as the possibility it could be used for malicious purposes.
There is also concern that AI may display biases against certain groups if trained on datasets that include racist or sexist material, while the technology could be used to create and spread misinformation.
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Proposed new rules would apply to general-purpose AI, which includes systems such as chatbots capable of understanding and responding to human-like questions.
Issued by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the latest whitepaper seeks to address concerns over privacy, human rights, and safety issues associated with AI.
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