Generative AI could put 300 million jobs at risk of automation —Goldman Sachs Report

Generative AI has the potential to automate about one-fourth of the jobs in the United States. This could put about 300 million jobs worldwide at risk of automation, according to a report released by Goldman Sachs on Sunday.

The report indicates that AI tools have a powerful impact on our daily lives and could significantly disrupt the labor market soon. Analysts from Goldman Sachs estimate that two-thirds of jobs in the U.S. and Europe will be automated. This is because 25%-50% of the workload of these jobs replaceable by AI.

According to the report, AI can boost economic growth and productivity globally. The wide adoption of generative AI could increase global GDP by 7%.

Which jobs will be most affected?

In general, some jobs are more susceptible to automation than others. Jobs that require physical strength, like cleaning and maintenance, cannot be automated completely. Office and administrative jobs have the highest percentage of tasks that can be automated, with 46%, while legal jobs is at 44%, followed by architecture and engineering at 37%.

Jobs in construction, cleaning and maintenance have only 1% of their tasks that can be automated. The installation and repair sector has 4% of tasks that could be replaced, ranking as the second least affected job.

The report also shows data from Europe which is quite similar to data from the U.S.

Clerical support jobs have the highest risks of being replaced as 45% of their tasks can be performed by AI. Only 4% of the tasks in the crafts and art sector can be computerized 

In summary, the U.S. has 25% of jobs that could be replaced by AI, just above the 24% average in Europe.

Which countries will be most affected?

“Our estimates intuitively suggest that fewer jobs in Emerging Markets are exposed to automation than in Developed markets, but 18% of work globally could be automated by AI on an employment-weighted basis.”

Goldman Sachs

According to the analysts, the U.S. Israel, Sweden, Hong Kong and Japan are the top 5 countries that are likely to be most affected.

China, Kenya, Nigeria, India and Vietnam on the other hand are the countries whose jobs are least likely to be replaced by generative AI.

The report also states that the statistics show that AI will disrupt the labour market. However, it does not suggest the extent of the disruption. It added, “The impact of AI will ultimately depend on its capability and adoption timeline.”