Almost one in two jobs could be affected by the artificial intelligence (AI), a market that will reach 4.8 billion dollars in just under ten years, the UN reported Thursday.
AI is transforming economies, creating opportunities, but also raising risks of greater inequality, explains the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) into a new report.
According to the document, the use of AI “could affect 40% of jobs worldwide”, offering productivity profits but also provoking concern for automation and loss of jobs.
The workforce of advanced economies is more exposed, since most jobs imply cognitive tasks, he explains. However, these economies are better positioned than emerging and low -income those to take advantage of AI.
The UN affirms that the situation is similar with respect to the impact of the generative AI. However, according to the report, the generative AI “could offer a greater potential for increased labor than automation, especially in low and medium income countries.”
The UN Commerce and Development believes that the benefits of AI automation usually favor capital to the detriment of labor, which could “increase inequality and reduce competitive advantage of cheap labor in developing economies.”
In a statement, Rebeca Grynspan, general secretary of the UN Commerce and Development asks for a stronger international cooperation to “displace the attention of technology to people, allowing countries to jointly create a world framework for artificial intelligence”, in order to take advantage of its potential for sustainable development.
“History has shown that, although technological progress is the engine of economic growth, alone it cannot guarantee an equitable distribution of income or promote inclusive human development,” he warns in the report.
4.8 billion
In 2023, advanced technologies (Internet of Things, Blockchain, Nanotechnologies, AI, etc.) represented a market of 2.5 billion dollars and is expected that this figure will multiply by six from here to 2033 until reaching 16.4 billion dollars, according to the report.
By 2033, the AI will occupy the first position of this market, ahead of the Internet of Things, with a value of 4.8 billion dollars, approximately the equivalent of the German economy.
The report explains that its benefits are likely to be very concentrated in a few economies. One hundred companies, mainly from the United States and China, represent 40% of worldwide in R&D of companies.
He also points out that Brazil, China, India and the Philippines are developing countries with better results in technological preparation.
The UN Commerce and Development recalls that AI is not limited to replacing jobs, but can also create new industries and empower workers.
“Investing in recycling, improvement of qualifications and adaptation of labor is essential to ensure that AI improves employment opportunities instead of eliminating them,” says the statement.
Several actors, at European and international level, participate in attempts to establish the governance of AI. But the UN regrets that many countries, “most of the global south”, are absent from these great conversations.
“As the regulation of AI and ethical frameworks take shape, developing countries must have a site at the table to ensure that AI serves to global progress, not only to the interests of a few,” says the UN trade and development.