A new report produced by investment bank Goldman Sachs says artificial intelligence (AI) could cause “significant disruption” to the job market, placing millions of jobs all across the globe in jeopardy if it lives up to its potential.
Estimates in the report released Sunday predict that generative AIs such as ChatGPT may replace as many as 300 million full-time jobs all over the world. The investment bank noted that the technology’s ability to independently create new material represented “a major advancement with potentially large macroeconomic effects.”
It noted about two-thirds of US and European jobs are at risk of seeing “some degree of AI automation,” and that roughly a quarter of all jobs could be replaced by the use of generative AI.
The report said, “Despite significant uncertainty around the potential of generative AI, its ability to generate content that is indistinguishable from human-created output and to break down communication barriers between humans and machines reflects a major advancement with potentially large macroeconomic effects.”
The report does note that at this time, most industries are only, “partially exposed to automation,” meaning that they will most likely be, “complemented rather than substituted by AI.”
The investment bank estimates about 7% of positions in the US could be replaced by AI, while 63% would be complemented by it, and 30% would be unaffected by the innovative technology.
Goldman Sachs also pointed out that in similar circumstances in the past, when a new technology automated a job, those lost positions were replaced with new jobs and occupations based around the new production systems generated, which on the whole increased the value of goods and services.
The report said, “The combination of significant labor cost savings, new job creation, and higher productivity for non-displaced workers raises the possibility of a productivity boom that raises economic growth substantially.”
The report predicts that as AI technology gains widespread adoption, it will eventually produce an increase in annual global GDP of about 7%.
