Robots snatching jobs? UN report says humans still superior; here's why

Rise of frontier technologies like Artificial Intelligence has caused fears of robots taking over blue-collar jobs, but a UN expert says mass unemployment is not expected as humans still have the upper hand given their creative abilities.

Ekkehard Ernst, Chief of Macro-economic policies and job unit at the UN International Labour Organization (ILO), says the manufacturing sector does not stand to profit most from AI, at least not in developed countries, and will not suffer the forecast demise.

The jobs more likely to be impacted are in service sectors such as construction and health care.

"It is not so much about losing jobs but about how jobs are being transformed and employees in these sectors will add new tasks to their profile while being supported by computers and robots in others," Ernst said.

The type of tasks that are being replaced by AI algorithms are routine, repetitive tasks that take a lot of time and can be more easily and more effectively performed by machines and by robots – leaving people to focus on interpersonal, social, emotional skills.

In developing countries, the area which most stands to benefit is agriculture, Ernst said. AI is already helping farmers figure out the weather or get the latest market prices. In sub-Saharan Africa, a mobile app created in part with the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) can identify crop pests such as the Fall Armyworm.

"What we need today is for people to get used to engaging with digital technology so they have no barriers to interacting with machines, that they speak to them, that they use them as a normal tool, as someone uses a car or an axe," said Ernst.

Technological progress depends on whether consumers and firms ask for products and serves made possible by new technologies, Ernst said, adding that it means in part on whether workers have the right skills to implement the changes, and whether consumers want them.

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