Artificial intelligence is not about to steal your job - that’s according to a new Canadian government report. Over the last few years there has been increased speculation surrounding the impact of AI with critics suggesting it is about to severely impact jobs in multiple industries as machines replace people as workers.
Although AI is still fairly new, its infancy has not stopped it being hailed as a savior by some and a new global threat by others. Jobs, in particular, have very much come under the AI spotlight following the suggestion that wide-scale adoption of AI could greatly impact on the number of jobs available. More to the point, the use of AI on a grand scale could not only limit the number of available jobs, but it could also replace existing workers in significant numbers. For example, an RBC research report in 2018 suggested “at least 50% of Canadian jobs in the next decade” would be affected by automation. Two of the industries most often mentioned in this respect include transportation and healthcare, although they are far from the only ones.
A Canadian government report obtained by The Canadian Press has now revealed officials were told by experts the likelihood of an AI doomsday job takeover in Canada was “overstated.” However, there were some caveats to the statement. For example, the experts expected those in rural areas to be more adversely affected by the wide use of AI due to these areas being more dependent on manufacturing. This is in addition to the suggestion that some industries will still feel the pressure of AI greater than others. Another of the warnings was that although outright job displacement might not be as bad as suggested, many jobs in general will change because of AI.
AI Not Just A Canadian Job Concern, But A Worldwide One
While this report focuses primarily on the effects of AI in Canada, similar debates are currently underway in many countries, including the U.S. In fact, as part of the current presidential election cycle, AI and its effects on the U.S. workforce has been a major branding point for candidate Andrew Yang. One of the ways in which Yang has suggested the issue can be overcome is through the implementation of his Universal Basic Income solution, known as the Freedom Dividend. Of course, if the likelihood of AI stealing jobs is overstated as suggested by this latest Canadian government report, then the need for a Freedom Dividend might also be overstated.
The problem is, it remains to be accurately understood how much the job landscape will be adversely affected by AI. While this report claims the issue to be not as bad as a doomsday scenario, it’s far from stating there is no issue at all. Instead, the findings are trying to identify to what extent the impact will have, and not whether it will have an impact at all. However, identifying that extent is proving increasingly difficult.
Adding to the problem are the other factors that are likely to either further increase or decrease the effects of AI on jobs. These include how many new jobs will be created from new AI use cases, and whether there’s the right framework in place to ensure the most affected by a shift to AI can be effectively retrained. Considering AI is moving at an incredibly fast rate, it is difficult for anyone, expert or otherwise, to accurately predict what AI will be able to do in decades from now. The one aspect most reports appear to agree on is the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs will mostly come down to whether the safety net measures and policies in place are sufficient enough.
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Source: The Globe and Mail
