In a recent interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the ‘Big 4’ Accounting Firm KPMG CEO Paul Knopp voiced his concerns over the substantial and long-term disruptions to jobs driven by the increasing influence of Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) in the workplace. Knopp, disclosed survey data indicating that 65 percent of executives anticipate a significant impact of AI on their organisations within the next five years.
During an interview with FOX Business, Knopp emphasised the potential long-term consequences of AI on employment. While acknowledging that substantial job loss hasn’t occurred to date, he pointed out that 76 percent of millennials and Gen Z workers report their jobs are already significantly affected by generative AI, signalling a trend towards widespread integration of AI in the workforce.
A KPMG survey further revealed that 58 percent of consumers believe generative AI, capable of creating diverse versions of text, images, audio, and other media, significantly impacts their professional lives. Recognized as a “deep-learning model” by IBM, generative AI possesses the ability to learn extensive coding languages. The survey also highlighted that 65 percent of business executives foresee a high impact of generative AI on their organisations within the next three to five years.
Despite these disruptions, Knopp expressed optimism about the economy’s resilience in absorbing technological shocks. He stated, “You think about all the different emerging technologies we’ve put in place over the last 25 years, and yet there’s been net job growth and not net job loss. And I think that with every emerging technology, we have seen that over time. And maybe the nature of some of what people do changes”, reported through Fox buisness.
Referring to a study mentioned by Knopp, workers were questioned about their sentiments regarding AI’s impact on their jobs. He highlighted, “That same study said that these individuals [ who ] took the survey weren’t that worried about job disruption; they thought that their mental health would actually improve, meaning that more mundane tasks might be automated, allowing them to do more valuable things in their work.”
The discussion also featured contributions from IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, expressing concerns about potential job disappearances with the ascent of AI. An IMF report additionally estimated that 60 percent of global jobs might soon face impacts due to AI.
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