AI impact on jobs depends on worker skills, study finds

Research from Georgia State University reveals that AI automation has a nuanced impact on the job market, challenging the simplistic narratives of either widespread job destruction or universal productivity gains. By analyzing millions of patents filed over a 16-year period, researchers have identified that certain AI specializations actually create jobs while others eliminate them, with the outcomes heavily dependent on the specific tasks being automated and the skills required in different sectors.

The big picture: AI’s impact on employment varies significantly based on the specific human capabilities it’s designed to replicate, with some forms driving job growth while others displace workers.

• AI systems focused on engagement, learning, and creativity are generating employment growth, particularly in white-collar industries like finance, engineering, design, and entertainment.
• Technologies automating perception and motor control capabilities are measurably displacing human workers in sectors traditionally reliant on physical labor, such as farming and construction.
• The findings contradict simplistic narratives that AI will either universally eliminate jobs or boost productivity across all sectors.

Key details: Researchers identified seven domains of human labor that AI can now automate to varying degrees: language, perception, motor control, engagement, decision-making, learning, and creativity.

• The study analyzed more than five million patents filed between 2007 and 2023 to determine how different AI specializations affect business outcomes.
• Forrester projects that humanoid robots, while currently rare, could accelerate job displacement in physical labor sectors in coming years.

Behind the numbers: Cost savings from replacing workers with AI don’t necessarily translate into productivity gains for businesses.

• Researchers noted that when AI displaces human workers, particularly in perception and motor control domains, the primary business benefit appears to be reduced production costs rather than improved performance.
• The potential financial benefits of automation are largely dependent on local labor market conditions rather than the technology itself.

Why this matters: The study suggests businesses need tailored AI strategies rather than one-size-fits-all approaches to automation.

• Companies with access to skilled workers stand to gain more from using AI that augments employee workflows rather than replaces them.
• Firms facing “frictions and impediments to external hiring” see lower or insignificant value gains from implementing augmenting AI innovations.