TOBY SHAPSHAK: Artificial intelligence and the jobs threat
The debate about whether an algorithm will replace your job is becoming more and more pertinent
Most conversations about artificial intelligence (AI) seem focused on the potential job losses resulting from this new form of automation. About 800-million people could lose their jobs by 2030, according to the figures from a study by the McKinsey Global Institute last December, which also predicted that AI will affect 800 job types and occupations in 46 countries. That’s 20% of the global workforce, a not insignificant number of people. "We estimate that as many as 375-million workers globally (14% of the global workforce) will likely need to transition to new occupational categories and learn new skills, in the event of rapid automation adoption," the authors conclude. We have to assume that this is not the part of McKinsey that helped the nefarious agendas of Eskom or the Saudi government, and take the research to heart. The kind of work that could be easily automated, they say, includes that done by machine operators, food workers, mortgage brokers, accountants and other admini...
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