- By Annabelle Liang
- Business reporter
January 15, 2024, 02:10 GMT
Updated 3 hours ago
Image source: Getty Images
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva says: “In most scenarios, AI is likely to worsen overall inequality.”
Ms. Georgieva added that policymakers should address the “worrying trend” to “prevent technology from further fueling social tensions.”
The proliferation of AI has brought its benefits and risks into the spotlight.
The IMF said AI is likely to impact a larger share of jobs – estimated at around 60% – in advanced economies. In half of these cases, workers can expect to benefit from integrating AI, which will increase their productivity.
In other cases, AI will be able to perform important tasks that are currently performed by humans. This could reduce demand for workers, impact wages and even eliminate jobs.
Meanwhile, the IMF predicts that technology will impact only 26% of jobs in low-income countries.
This echoes a 2023 report from Goldman Sachs, which estimated that AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs – but said new jobs could also be created alongside a productivity boom.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in November that people shouldn't worry at all about the impact of AI on jobs because education reforms would improve skills.
Ms Georgieva said: “Many of these countries do not have the infrastructure or skilled workforce to take advantage of the benefits of AI, increasing the risk that the technology could, over time, worsen inequality between nations.”
In general, higher-income and younger employees may see a disproportionate increase in their wages after the introduction of AI.
Low-income and older workers could fall behind, the IMF believes.
“It is critical for countries to establish comprehensive social safety nets and provide retraining programs for at-risk workers,” Ms. Georgieva said. “In this way, we can make the AI transition more inclusive, protect livelihoods and curb inequality.”
The IMF analysis comes as global economic and political leaders meet at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
AI is a topic of discussion after applications like ChatGPT become increasingly popular.
The European Parliament will vote on the AI law proposals early this year, but the legislation will not come into force until 2025.
The US, UK and China have yet to publish their own AI guidelines.