AI will force almost one in four jobs to restructure within five years
Labour gap to widen, with cashiers, bank and post office staff most affected
One in four jobs will need some kind of restructuring within the next five years, according to a study published by Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). The study says the replacing of humans by AI is the prelude to occupational effects on three levels.
Firstly, there will be new jobs created for people in AI-development and data science. Secondly, jobs will disappear thanks to the automation of tasks. Lastly, there will be retraining of workers so they can meet their employers' new needs.
The sectors with a great risk are related to the automation of industrial and surveillance processes and jobs related to word procession data entry and programming. Other jobs at risk are bank tellers, post office workers and cashiers.
Labour gap widens
Incorporating AI into the workforce will increase the labour gap between people with generative AI skills or a technological background and those without.
These inequalities will be a challenge policymakers and business owners must face in the future. Data in multiple reports point out that the disparities may take time to be absorbed by the labour market.
Higher education institutions will play an important role in providing learning programs for workers to improve their technological skills.
Fast-changing landscape
Despite being in the age of technology and data science, there is no certainty about these changes.
It is difficult to determine because of how fast the technological landscape changes. However, all sources agree broadly that AI will have a big impact on the workforce.