Bridging the AI divide: ensuring inclusive growth and job quality
Without intervention, the AI-driven digital economy risks widening the gap between rich and poor countries and socio-economic groups within them, exacerbating inequality, poverty and social unrest while squandering future opportunities
The rapid advance of artificial intelligence has the potential to reshape the world of work. While the technology offers immense opportunities for innovation and productivity gains, it also poses significant challenges, particularly regarding its impact on job quality and the unequal benefits that may accrue across countries and groups of workers.
A multidimensional ‘AI divide’ is emerging. In high-income countries, where AI adoption will likely be swift, the potential for productivity gains is significant. Wealthy countries are better equipped to harness AI, leading to the augmentation of existing jobs and creation of new jobs in technologically advanced sectors. However, this same technology threatens to displace some of their workers who are in occupations that are highly susceptible to automation, particularly in clerical and administrative positions. The potential displacement of workers in these occupations risks exacerbating existing gender inequalities, given that women are over-represented in these positions.
In contrast, low- and middle-income countries lag in AI adoption. This lag, often due to inadequate digital infrastructure and limited access to technology, temporarily buffers workers in these countries from the immediate impacts of automation. Yet this temporary buffer also risks becoming a bottleneck that hinders productivity and economic growth, and ultimately job creation, further entrenching these countries in a cycle of poverty and development challenges.
In addition, as AI technologies become more pervasive, they hold the potential to both enhance and degrade job quality, depending on the policies that guide their integration into the workplace.
In many industries, AI could be used to take over repetitive and mundane activities, allowing workers to focus on more complex and rewarding tasks. Such a shift has the potential to make jobs more engaging and intellectually stimulating, enhance job satisfaction and create opportunities for professional growth. In sectors such as health care, AI can assist with data analysis and routine diagnostics, enabling healthcare professionals to devote more time to patient care and complex problem-solving.
However, AI can also be used to intensify work processes, leading to increased workloads and pressure on workers. Where AI systems are used to oversee human labour, the technology can strip workers of autonomy and subject them to constant monitoring and real-time feedback driven by algorithms. Such environments can lead to heightened stress, reduced job satisfaction and a lack of control over work processes. Autonomous use of AI – especially without adequate safeguards and transparency – can lead to the reinforcement of existing biases or result in errors affecting workers’ careers and well-being.
The challenge, therefore, is to ensure that AI is used in ways that complement human labour, rather than replace it or reduce the quality of work. Such efforts should encompass jobs across AI’s value chain, especially in data-producing jobs that are crucial for developing countries.
A call to action
The divide between those who can leverage AI for economic gain and those who cannot is growing. Without intervention, the AI-accelerated digital economy will widen the gap not only between rich and poor countries but also between different socio-economic groups within countries, leading to a more unequal world, increased poverty, social unrest and lost opportunities for future generations.
In our recent joint report with the UN secretary-general’s envoy on technology, we proposed three key policy pillars to address these challenges and harness the development potential of AI. The G20 could make a significant contribution to progress in each of these dimensions by prioritising them in the forward work programmes of its Employment, Education and Development Working Groups.
First, strengthening international cooperation on AI is crucial. To close the AI divide, we must foster a global network for knowledge sharing and establish joint training initiatives. By building collaborative research partnerships and ensuring equitable access to AI resources, we can help all countries, particularly developing ones, to fully benefit from AI advances.
Second, building national AI capacity is essential. Countries need to make significant investments in education and digital infrastructure. This includes integrating AI and data science into educational curriculums and ensuring that AI tools are widely accessible. National policies should focus on promoting human-centred AI development, ensuring that privacy, safety and workers’ rights are protected.
Third, integrating AI positively into the world of work is vital. This involves ensuring that AI contributes to creating decent work opportunities and supporting workers’ reskilling efforts. It also requires addressing gender- and youth-specific challenges. Crucially, social dialogue should play a key role in managing AI’s integration into the workplace, ensuring that the voices of workers are heard and that AI enhances rather than diminishes job quality.
