(AFP / SEBASTIEN BOZON)
According to an Ipsos poll in December, as many as 64% of respondents in France think it is likely that AI will destroy jobs.
In particular, the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is underway
generative AI,
able to produce content. Should we be worried?
Employment in France?
The use of technology is a concern, especially since the introduction of ChatGPT, even if “everyone is fumbling around.”
Will everything soon be replaced by machines? According to an Ipsos poll from December
no less than 64% of people
Respondents surveyed in France believe it is likely that AI will destroy jobs. Already,
Initiatives in various sectors
Squeaks increase: an application presented as a legal “virtual advisor” (I.Avocat), a daily newspaper – l'Est Républicain – that tests AI to process the copy of certain local correspondents, or even a media monitoring company that does this hit headlines because he was once suspected of wanting to replace employees with robots… “That’s what we’re doing.”
on the verge of a revolution,
as with the arrival of photography in the 19th century. We don’t yet know everything that will come out of it,” notes Guillaume Chevillon, professor at Essec and co-director of Metalab.
While some economists see this as an opportunity for job growth, others do
Alarmists.
The consulting firm Roland Berger examined the impact of generative AI on employment in France and analyzed the automation potential of around 3,000 tasks in 436 professions. It shows
that “a third of professional activity”
is exposed to generative AI, according to this study published in November.
Around 800,000 jobs
are at “high risk of automation” (where a large proportion of tasks are automated) and 1.4 million jobs would prefer to be “augmented” (where a small proportion of tasks are automated, freeing up time for others).
Among the most exposed professions is the general director of the company, Laurent Benarousse, who told AFP
Administrative professions
(secretarial work, documentary or legal research, accounting, etc.), also in connection with
“a dichotomy between white-collar and blue-collar workers,”
Skilled trades (plumber, farmer, etc.) are “potentially very little affected.”
“Very few people” will be “severely affected.”
Guillaume Chevillon remains optimistic: “There are many people who will be a little affected, all the studies show that, but.”
very few people leaving [l’] be a lot”,
Except in certain areas such as “creative professions” (authors, designers, journalists, etc.), AI has “arrived very quickly and is accessible to everyone, which creates a kind of dizziness,” but the technology is “not yet fully developed.” ” he says. And “in the near future there will still be a need.”
human supervision.
For Laurent Benarousse, too, “the destruction of jobs is by no means inevitable,” but
“This requires anticipation,”
he states and particularly highlights the training problems for exposed positions. For “extended” professions, the whole question will be knowing what to do with the “source of productivity” and “its distribution between the company and the employee”, who, if necessary, could experience an increase in his work comfort by reducing his working time.
For his part, Pascal Fabre, deputy national trade union delegate of the SNB CFE-CGC at BNP Paribas, reports
“some concerns” among employees
since this fall. Large companies like the banking group “couldn’t do without it”, but he had the feeling that “everyone is fumbling around”. The banking sector was a pioneer sector: BNP Paribas
already “700 applications” of AI
and is considering 1,000, this union representative said. Without fearing short-term job cuts, he notes that their use could have an impact on real estate consultants, the “back office” or lawyers.
HR representatives want
be “connected” with these topics,
which falls within their prerogatives, he says, to “open the lid of this black box”: How much does that cost? what impact on employment in the short and medium term? What training was given? In a recent column in Le Monde, sociologist Dominique Méda identified not only employment, but also another danger: the development of “algorithmic” management with AI tools
monitor and analyze
Movements, writing speed…