AI is like a 'tsunami' hitting the labor force, IMF chief says
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is hitting the global labor force "like a tsunami" according to International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. AI is likely to impact 60% of jobs in advanced economies and 40% of jobs around the world, Georgieva said in remarks Monday at an event in Zurich that was organized by the Swiss Institute of International Studies.
Preparing for the Impact
"We have very little time to get people ready for it, businesses ready for it," Georgieva said. "It could bring tremendous increase in productivity if we manage it well, but it can also lead to more misinformation and, of course, more inequality in our society." She explained that the world economy has become more prone to shocks in recent years, such as the COVID pandemic and Russia's war against Ukraine. While Georgieva said she expects more shocks to occur, she indicated the global economy has remained resilient against recession.
Tech Giants Responding
Georgieva's remarks about the impact of AI on the global workforce come as tech giants are unveiling new updates to their AI models and rolling out new AI-powered features to best their rivals. Google unveiled an AI-oriented overhaul to its search engine with a new "AI Overview" function for the U.S. this week, with plans to expand its availability to other countries in the near future.
ChatGPT-maker OpenAI on Monday announced the release of its new GPT-4o flagship model, which is capable of realistic voice conversation with users and can also interact with either text or images.
Advancements in AI Technology
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)? At OpenAI's launch event, the Microsoft-backed startup demonstrated how GPT-4o was able to read a bedtime story in different voices, emotions, and tones. In another, the ChatGPT voice assistant used its vision capabilities to walk through solving a math equation that was written on a sheet of paper.
