Some 41% of senior executives expect to have smaller
workforces because of AI technology, Adecco said in a report based on a survey
of executives at 2,000 large companies worldwide.
Generative AI, which can create text, photos and videos in
response to open-ended prompts, has spurred both hope it could eliminate
repetitive tasks and fear it will make some jobs obsolete.
Tech companies, including global giants Google and
Microsoft, have embarked on a wave of layoffs in recent months as they shift
their focus to systems like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's chatbot Gemini.
The Adecco survey is one of the largest into the AI topic,
and follows a 2023 World Economic Forum study which said 25% of companies
expected AI to trigger job losses, while 50% expected the technology to create
new roles.
But while most senior executives surveyed by Adecco say AI
is a game changer, the vast majority say they have not made enough progress in
adopting the technology.
"Almost all jobs are going to be impacted by AI one way
or another," Adecco CEO Denis Machuel told Reuters. "AI can be a job
killer and it can also be a job creator.
"Ten years ago there was this big fear many jobs are
going to be destroyed by digital, when actually lots of jobs have been created
by the digital world," he said. "Between jobs created by AI and jobs
destroyed, we believe this is going to be balanced."
Companies needed to prepare for the disruption by training
their staff to work with AI, Machuel said, rather than relying on recruiting
specialists from outside.
Adecco polled businesses in the United States, Britain,
France, Germany, Japan, Spain, Canada, Australia and Singapore. Sectors covered
included defence, pharma, healthcare, industry and logistics.
The Swiss company, which uses AI itself, for example in
helping create resumes for clients, also sees the technology offering
"massive opportunity" in its work with customers.
"We already engaged in training and up-skilling people
on behalf of our clients," Machuel said. "We've sold a lot of
consulting projects and the ramp-up that we see on that is quite
interesting."
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