The think tank stressed that employment prospects will depend heavily on how companies approach AI transformation and their ability to create new jobs.
Image generated by ChatGPT depicting the replacement of human work by AI.
A Korean state think tank projected that the adoption of AI and other technical advancements will make it possible to automate over 90% of tasks for over 90% of jobs by 2030. The outlook is part of why the government has decided to launch its own “canaries dashboard” that shows changes brought about by AI development in the country’s labor market. The projection was made by Han Joseph, a labor economist at the Korea Development Institute, during a policy forum titled “The Future of Work: A New Labor Market Coexisting with AI,” put on by the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the KDI at the Korea Federation of Banks building on Thursday. Noting the mounting discussion on the potential for technology to shrink job opportunities for young people both in Korea and worldwide, Han stressed that employment prospects will depend heavily on how companies approach AI transformation and their ability to create new jobs. “In these circumstances, net job creation is only possible if new labor demand is generated quickly. Increasing flexibility within organizations to facilitate transitions to new roles and enhancing the capacity to create new roles and occupations by revitalizing the start-up ecosystem should be considered,” he said. A series of reports warning of the potential impact of job losses caused by AI have been published by major institutions around the world. In May, the International Labour Organization noted around one-quarter of jobs worldwide are in occupations that could be affected by generative AI, with the share rising to 34% in high-income economies. McKinsey & Company published a report in 2023 which estimated that by 2030-2060, 50% of all jobs could become automated.
