Tue, May 9th 2023
(Keystone) So far, automation and digitization have mainly led to the reduction of jobs in production. According to a new study, the increasing importance of artificial intelligence (AI) will increasingly endanger office jobs in the future.
ChatGPT and other AI applications are in the process of massively influencing the world of work. Professions in marketing and sales, in retail, in the commercial sector and in industrial production are particularly affected, according to a study by the labor market observation Amosa presented in Zurich on Tuesday.
According to the study, jobs in these areas may be particularly at risk in the future because they involve a high proportion of routine activities and at the same time have great potential for the use of AI applications.
“Artificial intelligence could, for example, be increasingly used in marketing when it comes to recognizing behavioral patterns and customer needs and the associated personalization of advertising,” said Katharina Degen, Head of Amosa Labor Market Observation.
According to the study, office and secretarial jobs are particularly at risk. However, the retail trade, which has already come under heavy pressure from online trading, is likely to remain in focus.
According to Amosa, the labor market authorities and various employers’ associations agree that in a working world characterized by digitization and a shortage of skilled workers, it will be important for employees to be able to acquire the skills they need to work in the professions that are in demand. Above all, digital skills should be promoted in a targeted manner.
The study “Work 4.0 – The future of work” also examined the change in the working world in retrospect. In the examined period from 2010 to 2020, there was a strong movement from manual to cognitive activities. In addition, routine activities are becoming less important. Mainly jobs in production companies were affected by the change.
Employment in routine manual jobs has shrunk by 22% since 2010. Conversely, cognitive and interactive non-routine activities have become increasingly important. Employment there grew by more than 30% in the same period.
Amosa is a joint project of the labor market authorities of the cantons of Aargau, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Glarus, Graubünden, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Zug and Zurich.
This article has been reprinted with permission from Keystone SDA.
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