Whose job will AI replace? Here’s why a clerk in Ethiopia has more to fear than one in California
Artificial intelligence is changing the world – and one of the main areas it will affect in the short-to-medium term is the workforce.
AI algorithms imitate real-world systems. The more repetitive a system is, the easier it is for AI to replace it. That's why jobs in customer service, retail and clerical roles are regularly named as being the most at risk.
That doesn't mean other jobs won't be affected. The latest advances in AI have shown all kinds of creative work and white-collar professions stand to be impacted to various degrees.
However, there's one important point that's usually not addressed in discussions about AI's impact on jobs. That is: where you work may be as important as what you do.
Current trends and projections suggest people in developing countries, where a higher proportion of jobs involve repetitive or manual tasks, will be the first and most affected.
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According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs report, emerging technologies and digitalisation are among the biggest driving factors for job displacement. The report states: The majority of fastest declining roles are clerical or secretarial roles, with bank tellers and related clerks, postal service clerks, cashiers and ticket clerks, and data entry clerks expected to decline fastest.
Let's take an office clerk as an example, whose responsibilities include answering phones, taking messages and scheduling appointments. We now have access to AI tools that can perform all these tasks.
They can also work non-stop, for free (or a fraction of the price), without being affected by personal problems, and without having to mentally strain to optimise their workflow. Of course they're going to be attractive to
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