AI could be a tsunami for entry-level jobs

AI is a “slow-moving tsunami” coming for jobs — especially entry-level jobs, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said during the IMF and World Bank’s annual meetings in Bangkok yesterday, per CNBC.

That warning has become a refrain in recent years as more and more of the basic, repetitive work that used to be handled by younger employees gets handed over to AI agents — look no further than the drop in global hiring for call centers.

BY THE NUMBERS: The IMF estimates that AI could lead to 40% of jobs being augmented, downgraded, or eliminated, over time, she said.

More from Georgieva: “People to worry about, first and foremost, [are] young people that are coming into the labor market. Normally, they would get into these routine, repetitive jobs and then grow up the ranks,” she said. “But if they’re gone, I don’t think any young person wants to be a barista in a coffee shop as ... [a] professional future.”

Crisis era? Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who co-chairs the World Bank’s Jobs Council, called for governments to implement “crisis-era” measures to ensure jobs for young people displaced by AI, similar to emergency actions taken during the coronavirus pandemic and the 2009 financial crisis. Shanmugaratnam was speaking on the same panel as Georgieva, per CNBC.

On the plus side: Georgieva credited AI investment with keeping global growth at 3%, per Reuters.

A slightly rosier picture in the GCC: Expectations of AI-driven job losses have actually fallen in the region during the past year, according to the UAE-based consultancy Cooper Fitch’s annual survey of 250k GCC employees. In last year’s survey, c. 31% of respondents expected AI to eliminate roles within 12 to 24 months. In this year’s report, that figure is down to 14%. Here’s more from our colleagues on the MENA+ desk.

Even when young people can find jobs, the nature of their work is likely to be far different. Here’s Khalil El Bawab, CEO for local and regional markets at Beltone Holding, speaking at our annual Egypt Forum last week: “Juniors used to learn by doing basic stuff. So, the way we train new members needs to change, because the basic things are going to be done by AI.”