27% of jobs at high risk from AI revolution, says OECD

PARIS, July 11 (Reuters) – More than a quarter of OECD jobs rely on skills that could be easily automated in the coming artificial intelligence revolution, and workers fear they could lose their jobs in AI, the OECD said on Tuesday.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a 38-member bloc, which includes mostly rich countries but also some developing economies such as Mexico and Estonia.

There is little evidence that the emergence of AI will have a significant impact on jobs so far, but that may be because the revolution is in its early stages, the OECD said.

Jobs with the highest risk of being automated make up 27% of the labor force on average in OECD countries, with eastern European countries most exposed, the Paris-based organization 2023 Employment said. Outlook.

Jobs with the highest risk are defined as those that use more than 25 of the 100 skills and abilities considered by AI experts to be easily automated.

Three out of five workers currently fear they will lose their jobs to AI in the next 10 years, the OECD found in a survey last year. The survey covers 5,300 workers in 2,000 companies covering manufacturing and finance in seven OECD countries.

The survey was conducted before the explosive emergence of generative AI such as ChatGPT.

Despite concerns over the arrival of AI, two-thirds of workers who are already employed by it say that automation has made their jobs less dangerous or tiring.

“How AI will ultimately affect workers in the workplace and whether the benefits outweigh the risks will depend on the policy actions we take,” OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann told a news conference.

“Governments must help workers prepare for the changes and benefit from the opportunities that AI will bring,” he continued.

Minimum wages and collective bargaining can help ease the pressure AI can put on wages while governments and regulators need to ensure workers’ rights are not compromised, the OECD said.

Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Emma Rumney

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