Artificial intelligence (AI) is a key factor in the ongoing workforce transformation that is both creating and displacing jobs. For business leaders to benefit from this transformation and achieve returns on investment for AI implementation, it will be essential for them to prioritize workers and earn their trust.
The job landscape is expected to change significantly. According to the 2025 WEF Future of Jobs report, there will be a net increase in jobs by 2030, with 170 million jobs created, while 92 million will be displaced. While this job growth is forecast to take place in the logistics, software/technology, and healthcare industries, a host of jobs that are largely routine function-based are at risk of fading away. For business leaders thinking about their organizations’ sustainability, this workforce transformation should be an important consideration. Job security, dignity, and career growth are foremost in most workers’ minds. As business leaders work toward the kinds of tech innovation driving the AI workforce transformation, they should consider these concerns of workers to ensure that they are bought in on AI implementation.
AI investment moves from ambition to execution
One of the practical factors that prevents business leaders from moving forward in this workforce transformation, apart from talent gaps or regulation that lags innovation, is that they have not yet seen returns on AI investment. There has been an enormous amount of investment in AI, but most organizations remain at the pilot stage of AI implementation. Less than 40 percent of companies that invest in AI have seen profits from it.
