Artificial intelligence (AI) will affect 60% of jobs in industrialized economies, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told AFP soon before leaving for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"Advanced economies, some emerging markets, are going to see 60 percent of their jobs impacted," she said in an interview in Washington, citing an International Monetary Fund report released Sunday on the subject.
"And then it goes down to 40 percent for emerging markets and 26 percent for low-income countries," she added, citing IMF research that states that nearly 40 percent of global employment is vulnerable to AI.
According to the IMF report, half of the employment affected by AI would be lost, while the remaining jobs may profit from efficiency increases as a result of AI.
"Your job may disappear altogether—not good—or artificial intelligence may enhance your job, so you will actually be more productive and your income level may go up," Georgieva was quoted as saying by AFP.
According to the IMF, while AI will have a reduced initial impact on emerging markets and developing economies, they are also less likely to profit from the revolutionary technology's advantages.
"This could exacerbate the digital divide and cross-country income disparity," the report added, noting that older workers are more sensitive to AI-induced change.
Georgieva told AFP that the IMF sees policy prescriptions as a significant chance to help address these concerns.
"We must focus on helping low-income countries in particular to move faster to be able to catch the opportunities that artificial intelligence will present," she added.
"In other words, embrace it; it is coming," she said. "So, artificial intelligence is a little terrifying. But it's also a fantastic chance for everyone."