As an AI, Digital and socio–tech professional, I try to keep my ears to the ground for any well-researched perspective on AI’s impact on employment and society. The OECD’s 2023 Employment Outlook offered valuable insights, most of which are still relevant, but technology has evolved since then, and thankfully, I came across another thought-provoking opinion piece recently.

The Economist’s take on the AI vs. Jobs debate (https://lnkd.in/gD6P76YH), in my opinion, was succinct, yet measured, data-based, and refreshingly devoid of headline-chasing projections about trillion-dollar disruptions. The key message? For now, AI seems to be augmenting human work rather than replacing workers. But how?

How do we reconcile this with the wave of layoffs sweeping through tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and others, often attributed to AI? This is where context matters. We must step outside the tech bubble and look at the broader labor market. The article points out that overall, in the US, unemployment remains low, white-collar employment and wages have risen slightly in the last few years. OECD countries, too, have been seeing record-high employment levels.

Within tech too, the narrative is more nuanced. AI is automating routine tasks like coding and customer support, but it is also creating new roles: prompt engineers, LLM specialists, and AI safety and ethics experts. Adoption is largely augmentative, not replacement-driven.

What does it mean for countries like India? India stands at the intersection of promise and pressure. With its development trajectory, employment opportunities can only grow, but the country’s flagship IT sector and tech-influenced white-collar jobs may face significant disruption due to AI-led shifts.

I’m unsure whether we are simply in an initial cautious phase before AI’s full impact unfolds, or if the disruptive effect on jobs has been overestimated.

But I am certain of this: a significant job transition, reskilling, and re-education phase has only begun. We must prepare for it strategically, not let it be a knee-jerk reaction.

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