PARIS, July 11 (Portal) – More than a quarter of jobs in the OECD depend on skills that could easily be automated in the coming artificial intelligence revolution, and workers fear they could lose their jobs to AI, shared the OECD on Tuesday.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a 38-strong bloc that includes mostly wealthy nations but also some emerging economies like Mexico and Estonia.
So far, there is little evidence that AI development is having a significant impact on employment, but that may be because the revolution is still in its early stages, the OECD says.
Jobs most at risk of automation account for an average of 27% of the workforce across OECD countries, with Eastern European countries most at risk, the Paris-based organization said in its 2023 Jobs Outlook.
The highest-risk jobs were defined as jobs that use more than 25 of the 100 skills and abilities that AI experts believe can be easily automated.
Three out of five workers now fear that they could lose their job to AI in the next ten years, the OECD found in a survey last year. The survey included 5,300 workers in 2,000 manufacturing and finance companies in seven OECD countries.
The survey was conducted before the explosion of generative AI like ChatGPT.
Despite concerns about the advent of AI, two-thirds of workers already using it said automation has made their jobs less dangerous or tiring.
“How AI will ultimately affect workers in the workplace and whether the benefits will outweigh the risks will depend on the policies we take,” said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann at a news conference.
“Governments need to help workers prepare for the changes and take advantage of the opportunities that AI brings,” he continued.
Minimum wages and collective bargaining could help reduce the pressure that AI could put on wages, while governments and regulators must ensure workers’ rights are not compromised, the OECD says.
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Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Edited by Emma Rumney
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