The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that AI will affect almost 40 per cent of jobs around the world, in a move that could simultaneously boost growth and deepen inequality.

According to new research from IMF, around 60 per cent of jobs in advanced economies may be impacted by AI, with around half of these benefitting from AI integration and enhance productivity.

However, the organisation says that for the other half, AI applications could replace tasks performed by humans leading to lower labour demand, reduced wages even the disappearance of these jobs.

For emerging markets and lower-income countries, the IMF estimates that around 40 per cent of jobs are exposed to AI with around half of these jobs at risk of negative disruption due to AI applications.

The IMF said that many of these countries do not have the infrastructure or skilled workforces to harness the benefits of AI, which raises the risk of technology worsening inequality between countries.

Additionally, the IMF warned that AI could increase wealth inequality within countries. While less experienced workers could use AI to enhance their productivity, older workers could struggle to adapt, leading to a disproportionate increase in income and more inequality.

The IMF concluded that that in most scenarios AI will likely worsen overall inequality and urged policy makers to proactively address the technology. It called for the establishment of training programmes and other safety nets to ensure the transition to AI is inclusive.

“To help countries craft the right policies, the IMF has developed an AI Preparedness Index that measures readiness in areas such as digital infrastructure, human-capital and labour-market policies, innovation and economic integration, and regulation and ethics,” said Kristalina Georgieva, IMF’s managing director. “The human-capital and labour-market policies component, for example, evaluates elements such as years of schooling and job-market mobility, as well as the proportion of the population covered by social safety nets.”

She continued: “The regulation and ethics component assesses the adaptability to digital business models of a country’s legal framework and the presence of strong governance for effective enforcement.”

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