A new study by the International Labour Organization (ILO), a United Nations agency, suggests that generative AI technologies are more inclined to complement existing job roles rather than completely taking them over. However, specific occupations, especially clerical tasks, are more susceptible to automation.
As per the findings, published on Aug. 21, 24% of clerical tasks face a high risk of being automated, with an added 58% at a medium-level risk. Some of the administrative roles highly exposed to this trend include typists, bank tellers, travel consultants, data entry clerks, hotel receptionists, and secretaries, among others. This trend is concerning as it indicates that women, who constitute a significant proportion of administrative roles, might be more vulnerable to job losses. The study reveals that approximately “3.7 percent of all female employment globally might be automated by generative AI technology, in contrast to only 1.4 percent of male employment.”
The automation’s reach is expected to be more prominent in high-income countries, impacting 5.5% of jobs, whereas low-income countries may witness an effect on only 0.4% of jobs. The ILO’s analysis largely zoomed in on the influence of chatbot applications such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.
The 2022 “crypto winter” is cited as an example of this AI influence. Notable industry players like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken saw significant cutbacks in their workforce, especially in the customer service sector. Current data reveals that customer service roles in the Web3 sector make up 2.5% of the total job listings on the cryptocurrency job board Web3.career.
Despite these shifts, the ILO remains moderately optimistic about AI’s overall impact on the workforce. They believe that the technology’s influence, at least for now, is neither completely positive nor entirely negative. Its eventual impact will be determined by how these technologies are managed and regulated. ILO emphasized the need for proper policies to ensure the benefits of this transition are evenly distributed and the associated costs to workers are mitigated.
However, the optimism portrayed by ILO contrasts sharply with the perceptions of the American public. A recent poll indicates that 62% of Americans believe AI will significantly influence the workplace in the coming two decades, resulting in apprehensions about their job security and future prospects.
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