Artificial intelligence and employment: what do we know until now?
The analysis of previous industrial revolutions has shown that the consequences of technological innovations on employment depend on the degree of complementarity between new technologies and workers. So far, this complementarity has clearly benefited the most qualified workers (skill-biased technological change); however, in the current context, recent developments in generative artificial intelligence could change this situation. This article aims to briefly present the current state of affairs regarding this subject based on a bibliographic review of recent academic works. The main conclusion is that the available evidence on the effects of artificial intelligence on employment does not show any significant variation in relation to previous technological changes. However, if AI-based technologies continue to develop and adapt to new tasks, we can expect their effects to be much more disruptive than in the past, although it is too early to tell. In any case, it is essential that educational systems are flexible enough to cope with these changes and respond adequately to the new needs of the labour market.
SDG
Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Barcelona, researcher at the Regional Quantitative Analysis Group (AQR-IREA), IZA Research Fellow, and GLO Fellow. His research interests focus on analysing the labour market from both regional and international perspectives, and, more specifically, on the study of globalization, inequality, unemployment and migration. He is currently co-director at Revista d’Economia Laboral and associate editor at Regional Studies, Regional Science. More details at http://www.raulramos.cat.