AI could replace 300 million workers: Goldman Sachs report

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 Mar 2023 10:39
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The report highlights how roughly two-thirds of jobs in Europe and the US are exposed to some degree of AI automation.

A smartphone with a displayed ChatGPT logo is placed on a computer motherboard, Feb. 23, 2023 (Reuters)

Investment bank and financial services company, Goldman Sachs, warned in a report that artificial intelligence (AI) could cause "significant disruption" to the labor market and put at risk millions of jobs around the world.

According to the company's estimates, generative AI tools such as ChatGPT could replace up to 300 million full-time jobs worldwide.

The report pointed out that generative AI, which can independently create new material, represents "a major advancement with potentially large macroeconomic effects."

It highlighted that roughly two-thirds of jobs in Europe and the US are exposed to "some degree of AI automation," adding that generative AI could be used as a substitute for a quarter of current jobs.

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However, the Goldman Sachs report considered that "despite significant uncertainty around the potential of generative AI, its ability to generate content that is indistinguishable from human-created output and to break down communication barriers between humans and machines reflects a major advancement with potentially large macroeconomic effects."

In addition, the company suggested that most industries are only "partially exposed to automation," making it more likely that they will be "complemented rather than substituted by AI."

The estimates also show that some 7% of positions in the US could be replaced by AI and 63% could be complemented by innovative technology, while 30% could be unaffected by it.

Goldman Sachs underlined that traditionally, jobs lost to technology were compensated for by the development of new careers and professions, raising the worth of products and services.

"The combination of significant labor cost savings, new job creation, and higher productivity for non-displaced workers raises the possibility of a productivity boom that raises economic growth substantially," the report noted.

Elsewhere, the report concluded that widespread adoption of AI could eventually increase annual global GDP by 7%.