Recently a group of consultancies and suppliers for big techs have been leading a project to challenge the thought that artificial intelligence (AI) will take jobs. The initiative cites the need for requalification and constant evolution of the information and communication technology (ICT) industries.
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UPS's largest layoff in its 116-year history was the result, in part, of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, CEO Carol Tomé said during an earnings call in February. Meanwhile, IBM plans to pause hiring for roles it believes could soon be automated by AI, CEO Arvind Krishna told Bloomberg last year.
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Workers are not optimistic about the future. In a recent McKinsey survey, 25% of business professionals said they expect their employer to lay off employees as a result of adopting AI. According to one estimate, around 4.000 workers have lost their jobs to AI since May. And in a survey by Beautiful.ai, which makes AI-powered presentation software, nearly half of managers said they hope to replace workers with AI.
But a group of Big Tech vendors and consultancies – called the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium (ITC) – aims to dispute the notion that AI will lead to job losses, citing the need for reskilling and upskilling within of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry specifically.
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The ITC is led by Cisco with support from Google, Microsoft, IBM (notably), Intel, SAP and Accenture. The ITC's mandate is to explore the impact of AI on jobs while enabling people to find AI-related training programs and connecting companies with “skilled, job-ready” workers, a spokesperson told TechCrunch in a briefing.
“ITC’s unique approach will research and evaluate the impact of AI on specific job roles, including skills and tasks, and recommend training for an AI-enabled ICT workforce,” the spokesperson said. “Consortium members and advisors share a common perspective that a greater sense of urgency is needed to understand the impact of AI on key job functions within the ICT industry.”
In the first phase of its work, the ITC will assess the impact of AI on 56 ICT job roles and provide training recommendations for the affected roles. These 56 roles, which the ITC has not yet released, were selected for their “strategic significance” in the broader ICT ecosystem and the impact of AI on the tasks required to perform the roles, the spokesperson said, as well as roles they offer “ promising entry points” for low-skill workers.
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“These job roles include 80% of the top 45 ICT job titles that had the highest volume of job postings for the period February 2023 to 2024 in the US and five of the largest European countries by number of ICT workers (France , Germany, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands)”, said the spokesperson. “Collectively, these countries represent a significant segment of the ICT sector, with a combined total of 10 million ICT workers.”
The ITC plans to publish its results in a report this summer. And, furthermore, it has not yet developed an action plan.
“The Consortium will determine the scope of its 'phase 2' by mid-2024,” the spokesperson said. “As we move into phase 2, the Consortium may consider extending invitations to other organizations and institutions to join our collaborative efforts in supporting the success of an AI-enabled ICT workforce.”
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According to a recent analysis from Lightcast, a job market analysis firm, demand for AI roles is decreasing, not increasing. In 2022, AI-related roles accounted for 2% of all job postings in the US. In 2023, this number dropped to 1,6%.
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