AI Could Displace The Workers Unemployed Because Of COVID-19
Research from Georgia State University shows that nearly 75% of jobs that are at risk due to COVID-19 match those that are also vulnerable to automation. The vast majority of jobs that are at risk of being delegated to machines are relatively low-paid jobs that involve routine tasks and very little requirements of complex decision making. The coronavirus outbreak is intensifying the structural impact that AI is having on employment by raising the rate of transition from human labour to automated processes. Industries such as education, healthcare and business are discovering creative ways of implementing AI into their operations
to minimise the effect that the pandemic is having on thier performance.
In order to be able to get back into the workforce once the economy recovers from the impact of the coronavirus, the unemployed workers must be supported by governments, non-profits even the private sector through innovative education and training programmes. The result of this would be an improvement
in the skillset of the low-skilled labour and boost their human capital, making them more employable in jobs that are less methodical and requiring more decision making, which is not yet within the capabilities of AI.
By combining the datasets of jobs that are both at risk from automation and from the coronavirus pandemic are, researchers at George Town University were able to deduce that the following sectors face the largest vulnerability:
Accommodation and food services
Art and entertainment
Wholesale and retail
Construction
However, in the short run, this may exacerbate the problem of underemployment because those without sufficient skills might find it difficult to compete in a changed labour market when economies around the world pick up again. In addition, those who became unemployed during the pandemic may find themselves completely displaced by automation in the recovery.
Going ahead, governments can use the lockdown times to accurately collect unemployment statistics and to identify workers who are in immediate need of support due to the COVID-19 recession and cross reference these findings with the jobs that are at most risk due to artificial intelligence. This way, the government can devise a long-term, innovative approach to restructure the workforce in a way that those displaced can be retrained and be made employable in a different sector.