AI to affect 40% of global jobs – IMF boss
She described AI as a “slow-moving tsunami" for the labour market, saying it could augment, downgrade or eliminate jobs. The post AI to affect 40% of global jobs – IMF boss appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
The International Monetary Fund has repeatedly flagged artificial intelligence as one of the biggest disruptors to the global labour market in coming years, alongside climate change and trade fragmentation. Unlike earlier waves of automation that mainly affected manual, routine work, AI's reach into cognitive and white-collar tasks means even highly skilled professionals in finance, law, media and administration are now seen as exposed, raising fresh questions about job security, wage inequality and the pace at which economies and workers can adapt.
The remarks, attributed to the IMF's chief, frame AI's impact as uneven rather than uniformly destructive — some jobs could be enhanced by the technology, others diminished, and some eliminated outright. For Nigeria and other developing economies, where formal job creation already struggles to keep pace with a youthful, fast-growing workforce, such warnings add urgency to debates about digital skills training, regulation and whether local industries are prepared for AI-driven shifts in global outsourcing and services work. Coverage so far centres on the 40% estimate and the "slow-moving tsunami" characterisation, with no details yet on country-specific breakdowns or proposed policy responses.