Charlotte Vigy | Spring 2025
In 1996, a computer defeated a world chess champion for the first time. Now, computers seem to be beating humans in most everyday tasks. AI, what once seemed like a futuristic idea, is now an integral part of daily life. While it is a useful tool that answers any question in the blink of an eye, we can’t help but wonder if AI will replace us. A common fear that has plagued our world is that AI will make human jobs obsolete—ultimately replacing working people in industries ranging from customer service to data analytics to simply driving a car. The truth is we can’t predict the future, but educated guesses can be made.
Two things our global economy has been challenged with are aging populations in advanced economies along with low productivity in economies that are developing. According to Barclays’ AI Revolution Report (2024), AI can help combat both these obstacles, as it is accessible and efficient. Trends show that economically developing countries such as India, Mexico, and Middle Eastern countries are experiencing a decline in their manufacturing sectors premature to their expected levels of wealth (Rodrik 2015). This is known as “premature deindustrialization.” Its negative impacts mean that the country that is affected no longer gains the “productivity” and “real income” that they experienced during industrialization. Incorporating AI within these countries would allow it to play a key role in boosting productivity in the workforce and ultimately taking over as the “new industrialization” as stated by the Barclays report (2024). This predicts potential for growth in economically developing countries.
Continuing potential growth due to AI will not only be seen in underdeveloped economies, but also worldwide. Goldman Sachs has predicted a 7 percent—or more precisely a $7 trillion—global increase in GDP over the next 10 years as a result of AI. This is because as AI continues to integrate itself, routine tasks are expected to become increasingly automated. This predicted boost has been analyzed from AI’s incredible speed at processing information and analyzing data, which in turn drastically cuts down time spent by workers on such tasks. This allows more time to be allocated for decision-making, communication, and overall efficiency in the workplace (Hernandez, Kim, and Singh 2023). This is a necessity in declining populations. Numerous economically developed countries are experiencing aging populations, such as Russia, Italy, Germany, and more. Countries with aging populations have been suffering due to declining birth rates and are consequently facing labor shortages (Barclays 2024). By leveraging AI to boost workforce efficiency, countries with declining populations can sustain economic growth despite these labor shortages. It is clear that AI has the power to serve as an important tool to counteract labor shortages, support industrial development, and drive economic growth—offering a new path for nations facing demographic and economic challenges.
While AI has a promising future, these advancements have raised concerns regarding job security. If AI can perform tasks more efficiently and reduce the need for human workers, what does this mean for employment opportunities in the long run? As AI seeps into the job market, it has recently been coined by Forbes as one of the most disruptive technologies across global economies. It has also been estimated that “as many as 47 percent of current jobs could be replaced by technology” (Stettner 2022). Another prediction by Goldman Sachs estimates a loss of 300 million full-time jobs due to AI (Goldman Sachs 2023). To avoid panic at the thought of our jobs being taken over, it is important to put things into perspective. History has shown that while technological advancements may replace certain jobs, they also create new opportunities. For instance, when ATMs were introduced, there were concerns that bank tellers would no longer be needed. Instead, ATMs allowed banks to expand services and led to more job creation in customer relations and financial advising. Similar patterns emerged with the rise of computers and the internet—while some administrative jobs disappeared, entirely new industries like software development and digital marketing emerged. This suggests that while AI may automate certain tasks, it is more likely to transform the workforce rather than eliminate it entirely.
To put it simply, AI will eliminate some careers, create new ones, and transform the workplace altogether. AI’s integration into the workforce does not necessarily mean the complete and total elimination of job opportunities. Instead, it signals a shift in the types of jobs available and highlights the growing need for retraining and skill adaptation. While AI creates more opportunities for highly skilled workers, such as engineers and AI developers, it will reduce demand for lower-skilled jobs. The term lower-skilled work refers to labor that requires little to no training or education, often involving routine duties. This includes roles such as customer service, retail, and manufacturing. The reason AI would be more impactful toward lower-skilled jobs is that routine tasks can easily be automated. Algorithms embedded in AI technology allow it to compute and automate such tasks at speeds unmatched by humans. While human workers may get fatigued doing such repetitive tasks, AI does not, allowing for quicker and more consistent results.
AI will also boost and create new jobs that require collaboration and development of AI technologies. As AI integrates into different industries, workers will be expected to collaborate with AI systems. For example in fields like healthcare, professionals will work alongside AI-powered diagnostic tools to improve patient outcomes (Smythos n.d.). Another example is business settings, where AI can assist analysts by processing large datasets, allowing the human experts to prioritize their time on strategic decision-making (Express News 2024). Many jobs will become collaborative with AI—workers will leverage this technology to improve efficiency and drive innovation. In addition to jobs that will collaborate with AI, there is an increasing demand for those who can develop it. This includes computer scientists, software engineers, and those with backgrounds in machine learning. While AI has dramatically expanded in recent years, the development is far from finished. AI models are continuously being trained, researched, and structured, with a vast amount of new technologies to come. The field of artificial intelligence has created many new jobs, and it’s just getting started.
As artificial intelligence shapes industries worldwide, its influence goes beyond automation and efficiency—it is also playing a pivotal role in global economic competition and innovation. Nations investing heavily in AI research and implementation are positioning themselves as leaders in technological advancement. The United States and China, for example, are engaged in a race to develop advanced AI systems, fueling breakthroughs in fields such as autonomous robotics, quantum computing, and generative AI. China’s recent development of the “Wukong” quantum computer, which has achieved over 20 million remote global visits, highlights this progress (Investor’s Business Daily 2024). Countries that fail to integrate AI into their economic strategies risk falling behind, as businesses seek AI-driven markets for investment and growth. However, this presents opportunities for smaller economies to leverage AI in niche sectors—such as agritech in sub-Saharan Africa or AI-powered finance services in Southeast Asia—to gain a competitive advantage. In sub-Saharan Africa, AI applications are being tested to help farmers detect crop diseases, thereby improving food security (Nordic Africa Institute 2024). As AI redefines global markets, governments and businesses must consider policies that balance tech advancement with workforce development, ensuring that economic benefits are widely distributed.
The rise of artificial intelligence is no longer a distant possibility but a present reality. AI is undeniably shaping industries, economies, and the workforce. While concerns about job displacement are valid, history has shown that technological advancements often lead to transformation rather than elimination. AI, much like past innovations, is both a challenge and an opportunity—eliminating some jobs, reshaping others, and creating entirely new fields of work. As demonstrated by AI’s role in counteracting labor shortages in aging populations and boosting productivity in developing economies, it is evident that AI is not an ultimate threat but a tool for progress. However, this transition will require adaptability. Governments, businesses, and individuals must prioritize development of skill sets and education to ensure that the workforce is prepared for an AI-driven world. Policymakers must strike a balance between embracing AI’s economic benefits and mitigating its social consequences, ensuring that economic growth is inclusive rather than widening the gap between high- and low-skilled workers. Moreover, as nations compete to establish AI dominance, it is crucial that ethical considerations and equitable development remain at the forefront of innovation. The future of AI is not one of inevitable human obsolescence but rather one of collaboration—where AI enhances decision-making and automates tedious tasks, leaving humans to focus on creativity, critical thinking, and complex problem-solving. While the full impact of AI remains uncertain, one thing is clear: the future is not about AI replacing humans—it is about how humans will choose to integrate AI into our world.
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Barclays. 2024. AI Revolution Report. London: Barclays Research.
Express News. 2024. “AI in Business: Enhancing Strategic Decision-Making.” Express News, March 10, 2024. https://www.expressnews.com/ai-strategy.
Goldman Sachs. 2023. “The Impact of AI on the Global Economy.” Goldman Sachs Reports, April 17, 2023. https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/pages/ai-economy-report.
Hernandez, Laura, Michael Kim, and Priya Singh. 2023. “AI and Workplace Efficiency.” Journal of Emerging Technologies 12 (2): 45–61.
Investor’s Business Daily. 2024. “China’s Quantum Leap: Wukong and the Future of AI.” Investor’s Business Daily, January 20, 2024. https://www.investors.com/china-wukong-quantum.
Nordic Africa Institute. 2024. “AI and Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Nordic Africa Institute Briefing Paper, February 8, 2024. https://nai.uu.se/publications.
Rodrik, Dani. 2015. “Premature Deindustrialization.” Journal of Economic Growth 21 (1): 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10887-015-9122-3.
Smythos. n.d. “AI in Healthcare: Human-Machine Collaboration.” Smythos Insights. Accessed March 20, 2025. https://www.smythos.com/ai-healthcare.
Stettner, Andrew. 2022. “AI and Job Displacement: What to Expect.” Forbes, August 5, 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewstettner/2022/08/05/ai-job-displacement