Is AI a job destroyer or job creator?

It's easy to assert that professionals need to be retrained to adapt to technology, but the big question is whether it's as simple to do so.

The aim of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) just concluded in Davos is to analyze the global context (not exclusively economic), reach common diagnoses, and seek solutions to address the main global challenges. This year, the motto has been "Restoring Trust," understanding that it has been eroded by the reality of a world in full transformation, with profound structural changes causing uncertainty in societies and markets.

One of the thematic areas to be addressed, alongside the search for security and cooperation in a fractured world, the need to generate employment and growth, or the great challenge of climate, the environment, and energy transition, has been artificial intelligence (AI), which they describe as "the engine of the economy and society."

Beyond more or less alarmist economic forecasts, IMF experts are clear that AI will be one of the main driving forces of the economy in the future, and it will have a significant impact on employment. According to a report presented by the institution, currently almost 40% of global employment is exposed to AI, and its future development will affect 60% of jobs in advanced economies.

This leads me to think about the Luddites, followers of a popular movement that emerged in early 19th-century England, led by artisans who rebelled against the introduction of machinery in production processes, despite the great benefits that industrialization brought – films like Chaplin's "Modern Times" and Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" attest to this. We could talk, in the present day, about the new Luddites, the Luddites of artificial intelligence, who resist the radical changes that it brings to society and the labor market.

The truth is that the debate about the relationship between artificial intelligence and employment oscillates between two contradictory extremes, placing it either as an agent of job displacement and destroyer of employment, or as a massive catalyst for productivity and business transformation and generator of new jobs.

Against the dark forecasts of the IMF, a study by the technology consulting firm Gartner states that over the next decade, AI will create 500 million new jobs worldwide, many more than it will cut.

Let's try to dissect this debate. On the one hand, AI, especially generative AI, has demonstrated its added value by adding layers of efficiency and personalization in multiple areas of business, from marketing to product design and operations. And in this process, strategic objectives are being achieved, and industries are being transformed. However, this raises a series of critical questions: Are these advances diminishing the need for human labor? Is AI truly a net job creator, creating more opportunities than it takes away?

Advocates of AI argue that, thanks to the democratization of collective knowledge, AI has the transformative power to make knowledge more accessible at all levels of an organization, give more autonomy to employees, and enable them to contribute more effectively to the organization's goals. That is, focusing more on the human and creative aspect than on routine tasks. This process can lead to a more innovative and adaptable workforce, possibly generating new jobs and functions in the process. This is what we could call augmented intelligence, the fusion of human and artificial intelligence.

However, the fear of the obsolescence of certain jobs is palpable. AI Luddites commonly argue that automation and artificial intelligence are eroding traditional job positions, leaving displaced workers in a difficult transition to new jobs, often with a disparity in required skills. According to a survey by MIT and Harvard University, almost half of the skills we currently apply in our jobs will not be useful in 2025.

The question is how to complement that. It's easy to say that professionals need to be retrained, but is it so easy to do?

To manage this contradiction, it is vital to create an environment where transition and adaptation are possible and constructive. Continuous training and upskilling in new technologies like AI are essential for the current workforce. It is equally important for organizations to adopt an ethical stance in the implementation of AI, considering the employment implications and ensuring that technology adoption extends to everyone and is sustainable.

It is evident that AI generates both opportunities and challenges in job creation and destruction, but the key to this debate, for its impact to be more positive, lies in education, continuous training, and the design of business strategies that integrate AI in a way that multiplies human value, rather than replacing it. If we approach AI with an inclusive, ethical, and future-oriented mindset, organizations and workers can thrive in this new era of technological change.

By Oscar Velasco, Managing Partner of OLIVIA Spain's transformation division.