Is AI coming for your job? | DW Business

83 million jobs are set to disappear within just 5 years, according to the World Economic Forum’s latest report on the future of work. DW speaks with its managing director, Saadia Zahidi, on how the rapid advancements in AI and the push for green solutions are continuing to disrupt the job market.

While low-skill work is most at risk from AI, the report emphasizes that it will ultimately have a 'net positive' effect, with developments set to create 69 million new jobs by 2027. However, job disruption is likely to disproportionately affect women. Meanwhile, a talent shortage is pushing firms to retrain their employees faster: we explore the growing trend of companies focusing on training and 'upskilling' workers to keep up with the ever-changing landscape.

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[sus]

Getting trained for newer jobs is not as good as they say. All employers ask for experience and no new jobs for fresh starters.

[containedhurricane]

I wanted to study computer science, but I think becoming a barber is safer

[helloworld]

My career ended before it even started.

[archie]

I borderline expected Saadia will peel off her skin at the end and proclaim "Too late, puny humans!" revealing that she's an AI and real Saadia had already been replaced.

[gatomio]

The company with which I work as a "partner" has decided to implement AI and although they say "it will be a sea of new opportunities" it is evident that all the artists of the company will be replaced, I feel sad, angry, shocked, maybe hopeful but I am afraid. I am truly afraid of the uncertainty of how I will be able to support my family

[johnmongver]

If AI can do everything we can do, I think everyone should not be forced to work.

[vallab]

To be blunt, no body knows the human job perspective in the coming future, they paint some positive pictures to maintain the status co and remain in their position.

[Juniperus_Godegara]

The problem is not the advance of AI but uncontrolled capitalism. If societies would not cater to multinational companies but rather they would care about their own people, then nobody had to worry about their job because they knew that they would get money for food and housing from the state.

[MrRobertny]

In some point we will need an universal basic income discussion. Some people will not adapt at all to new jobs ....

[texmurphy]

This report would have been much more credible if I could stop laughing after Saadia mentioned how companies are working harder to retool and retrain their workers. I’m sorry, but I have yet to see any company doing the right thing in retraining their workforce - rather than performing mass layoffs and rehiring the talent needed from the open market. Companies doing the right thing is as much a fantasy as world peace.

[daflipsideyo]

The government is not going to help in re-training anyone. Where I'm from, since COVID there hasn't been a single penny allocated to re-training. Over 200, 000 laid off from the IT sector and not a single one has been offered any training. And going by the history of my government I will say they are more interested in coming up with a plan on how to charge AI income tax than re-training anyone. It's every man and woman for him/herself as it stands for now.

[boburjonyoqubov]

I have couple of questions :
1. One of the main determinants of gaining economic prosperity of any government is achieving as much as possible higher level of employment, so is it paradox that nations heading to reducing employment level and increasing unemployment numbers ?
2. The main driver of any economy is consumer consumption, (70%), if people will stay out of jobs they lose confidence and begin spend money only for basic staff like food, apartment, clothes, so if this numbers would drop to 40 %, whom need this term “productivity “ which accelerating by technology development?
3. Tax system, AI is gonna pay taxes as human beings did ? Which is again the basis of any economy to create a budget ?

[DrStinger]

This is exactly one of the biggest reasons I am terrified of AI in the future. My prediction are coming true. It’s going to put a lot of people out of work one day.

[foilhat]

Sooner or later AI will take all the jobs, we cant compete. First will be the white collar jobs, then the blue collar and artistic jobs. There is no field we will be able to compete in indefinitely. AI will be better at data entry, manual labor, running the company, writing a better novel. No job is safe, and its a good thing. What we need to do is have an adult conversation about purpose (which we wont), and some sort of universal basic income and what a post economy economy will look like, and get ready for things to start to get real silly.

[LordVader]

If WEF says 83 million jobs will disappear, that's not a prediction. That's a PROMISE.

[miroslavblagojevic]

People are mostly not aware that high skilled manual workers have the most secure jobs (electricians, plumbers, dentists, medical nurses, maintenance technicias, ...) and that's how will stay for a long time but all office administrative jobs will be easily replaced with AI, even the menagment and sales positions.

[frankprit]

So basically, I'll need to know everything just to get a minimum wage job.

[jeffneptune]

Ironically, Jr devs, IT folks and programmer jobs will be among the first go as AI rapidly advances in a few years. Until robotics catches up, many good paying jobs will remain for a few decades like floor nurses and plumbers. This woman is in denial if she thinks it is only low skill workers that will be effected. Today we have an AI based machine that performs better than our best radiologists. Soon those "skills" will be worth no more than those of the humble burger flipper.

[Qibilii]

Employers are trying to buy already developed talent. I just ditched a +1hr job exam over the weekend. They no longer want face-to-face or human-centric interviewing. The application process itself is vastly automated with generative AI, it's almost like they don't value the human connection during the job application process. Hence, the use of ChatGPT to write cover letters tailored to the job description and requirements. No need to waste more than 5 mins on one job application. It's only fair.

[Siranoxz]

The more it disrupt the more we need ask ourselves if we need to keep our social structures in place like working for money or having a job at all..
People will always work, but work based on their interests instead of working for money and survival.

As of now, we are way too afraid of the inevitable outcome of AI doing our work and humans being freed to pursue their own passions with some basic necessities as a human right.