MIT makes important revelations on the impact of AI on employment. Learn how the MIT study defies fears by revealing human cost competitiveness.
Humans remain more economical than AI
While the impact of AI on employment is debated, the MIT study highlights the complexity of automation. She emphasizes that only 23% of jobs, measured in wages, can be profitably supplanted by AI.
Certainly, AI offers undeniable advantages. However, its high upfront costs make automating only a quarter of jobs financially viable.
2023: A year marked by accelerated adoption of AI
The year 2023 saw a dramatic acceleration in AI adoption, fueled by advancements like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This frantic raceoften described as reckless by some industry leaders, raises concerns about its impact on employment.
THE MIT points out that despite this rapid adoption, the cost-effectiveness of AI varies significantly from one sector to another. According to his report, the most profitable markets for automation are :
- retail,
- transportation,
- health.
Towards increasing automation?
Funded by the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, the study is based on data from 1,000 visually assisted tasks in 800 professions. Currently, only 3% of these tasks can be cost-effectively automated.
However, the researchers predict a significant change by 2030. This figure could therefore reach up to 40%, subject to decreasing data costs and improving AI accuracy.
Upstream, the growing sophistication of language models such as ChatGPT and Google’s Bard raises concerns about the substitution of once exclusively human tasks. The IMF estimates that almost 40% of global jobs could be affected. Hence the interest in balancing the potential of AI and its negative impacts.
MIT offers a clear overview of the challenges and opportunities related to AI in the world of work. While some professions are still resisting, the future looks set to be automated (but with nuances to explore).
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