People are wondering about job losses due to AI and it is easy to understand why. There has been a deluge of AI content so far in 2023 - both written by AI and about AI - and a lot of it has focused on job losses. From mass layoffs to doomsday reporting it would seem that we are on the verge of an AI jobs armageddon. But is that really the case? Let's take a look at some AI job loss statistics so far in 2023.
AI Job Loss Statistic #1:
800 Million Jobs Will Be Lost To AI by 2030
That is according to one small business research firm and I personally think this is totally incorrect. AI will utterly change how we work and interact with technology. However, artificial intelligence is only the latest in a long line of technologies that were slated as job-destroying, like the tractor, the sewing machine, and the computer, that in fact increased human production.
This is most certainly the Worst Case Scenario and I deem it very unlikely.
AI Job Loss Statistic #2:
300 Million Jobs Will Be Lost To AI by 2030
This is a similarly pessimistic report from Goldman Sachs. It is a lower number than the 800 million mentioned above but aside from that it is equally unlikely. There is no doubt about the ability of generative AI but some recent high-profile mistakes show we are a long way off AI taking over the workplace.
AI Job Loss Statistic #3:
56% of Companies Have Adopted AI Already
Over half of firms are using AI already according to Forbes. This one I certainly can believe. In fact, I see this as a positive step. We all have tasks we hate and letting advanced artificial intelligence software proofread long documents or speed up presentation making makes our lives easier. I do not see many farmers yearning for the days of manual plowing or accountants rushing back to paper and ink ledgers.
AI Job Loss Statistic #4:
80% of Workers Will Be Impacted by AI
This one is from the ever-reliable OpenAI and I tend to agree. They measure this as workers having 10% of their day impacted by artificial intelligence. In all my years of working, I have not come across an employee who would not jump at the chance of trimming their hectic workday by 45 minutes.
AI Job Loss Statistic #5:
Women Will Be Impacted More Than Men
This is a tricky one but I think is going to be the case. Men tend more towards physical jobs than women and this current AI revolution is very much focused on white-collar and office-based work. Throughout history women have shown themselves to be resilient to the changing job market so this is not a reason to despair - but it is certainly something to keep in mind.
AI Job Loss Statistic #6:
31% of Workers Are Worried About AI Taking Their Job
This one comes from PwC and there is no reason to doubt it. In my own personal experience, at least one in three workers is concerned about AI. Here at Aiifi we are firm believers that learning about AI and adapting to it is the best approach to insulate yourself from any job losses due to AI.
AI Job Loss Statistic #7:
AI Could Create 97 Million New Jobs by 2025
Now that's more like it. The usually gloomy World Economic Forum is optimistic about the impact of artificial intelligence on the jobs market. Their very detailed report looks at this topic in great detail and one part stands out. They highlight the key skills needed to thrive in this new AI world as analytical thinking, creativity and flexibility.
AI Job Loss Statistic #8:
Only 122,900 AI Job Losses in 2023
Only 122,900 job losses in 2023 were attributed to artificial intelligence. This is only a small fraction of the widespread layoffs announced globally and shows that things are not as bad as the attention-grabbing headlines suggest. The US and Europe are both experiencing unemployment rates well below recent norms
Conclusion From AI Job Loss Statistics
It is perfectly understandable that workers are worried about the impact of artificial intelligence on their jobs and livelihoods. Technology has always forced us to change how we work and AI will be no different. However, the reports proclaiming hundreds of millions of job losses are based on a whole lot of assumptions that are not borne out by the reality of 2023 employment.
That being said, there is absolutely no doubt that highly repetitive white-collar tasks will disappear, and this will impact different sectors of society unequally. The invention of the tractor impacted mostly rural men and the automated sowing machine impacted mostly urban women. AI will impact office workers, work-from-home freelancers, and anyone whose job is computer-based. Financial analysts and web designers are among the most exposed to AI job losses according to Euronews for instance.
So what can you do next? The obvious answer is to follow us here at Aiifi to learn about AI. Meanwhile, you can read about how to leverage AI (here) or about setting up your own AI automation agency (here).