In a blog post on Monday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlighted the importance of countries investing in education and training to support workers through the transition towards artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The agency emphasized that distributing gains and opportunities is crucial not only for protecting the vulnerable and maintaining social cohesion, but also for maximizing the benefits of AI.
The IMF recommended that nations provide financial aid during periods of unemployment, facilitate the acquisition of new skills, and establish safety nets to help individuals adapt to changes in the job market. Additionally, the agency proposed a reassessment of corporate tax incentives that contribute to rapid job displacement, an increase in taxes on capital income to address growing inequality, and the implementation of taxes to offset carbon emissions from energy-intensive AI servers.
Major tech companies such as Google and Meta have been rapidly developing their own AI models following the success of OpenAI’s ChatGPT tool. This trend has fueled the advancement of AI technology and raised concerns among U.S. workers about the impact on their jobs. Surveys conducted by YouGov in April revealed that a significant number of workers fear that AI will reduce their hours, salaries, or lead to job loss. Approximately 36% of respondents expressed concerns about AI taking over their jobs, while 43% believed the technology would decrease job opportunities in their industries.
