The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that nearly 40% of jobs globally will be influenced by artificial intelligence (AI), with advanced economies expected to experience a higher impact compared to emerging markets and low-income nations.
The IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, in a Bloomberg report on Monday, was quoted as expressing concern about the development, noting that, in most cases, AI is likely to exacerbate overall inequality.
Georgieva in a blog post on the study said: “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.”
According to her, AI’s income inequality effect will largely depend on how much the technology complements high earners while improved productivity from high-income workers and companies would boost capital returns, thereby widening the wealth gap.
To mitigate the negative impact of the technological innovation, the development finance expert advised countries to provide “comprehensive social safety nets” and retraining programmes for vulnerable workers.
She noted that while there remained a potential for AI to fully replace some jobs, the more likely scenario is that it will complement human work, according to the analysis.
Georgieva projected that advanced economies may have about 60% of jobs affected while emerging and low-income countries will record lower rate.
The IMF boss’ concern on artificial intelligence coincides with the meeting of global business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where AI is a topic of discussion.
In recent times, reports indicated that many firms had been investing in emerging technology, sometimes sparking concern among employees about the future of their roles.
For instance, Buzzfeed Inc., had recently announced plans to use AI to help with content creation and closed its core news department, laying off more than 100 employees.
Last December, the European Union (EU) reached a tentative deal on legislation setting out safeguards on AI, while the U.S is still considering its federal regulatory stance on the AI emerging implications for job creation and retention in the country.
Meanwhile, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has charged global leaders on the need for a coordinated response to address the challenges presented by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The chair of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos, warned that the rapid evolution of AI technology could negatively alter the course of history if not properly managed.
According to a Financial Times report, in anticipation of the upcoming summit in Davos, De Cos urged leaders to consider financial regulation as a model for addressing issues like AI and climate change.
While noting that there has been a clear increase in economic problems in the past decade and that international institutions needed to cooperate to find solutions, the banker further lamented, however, that recent development at the geopolitical level shows that reaching common agreements was becoming more and more difficult.
The chair of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said the Basel Committee would publish a report on the financial stability implications of AI in the coming months.
