AI Hitting Global Labor Market like “Tsunami”, Says IMF Chief

AI is hitting the global labor market “like a tsunami,” said International Monetary Fund Executive Director Kristalina Georgieva.

She added during a conference in Zurich yesterday, Monday, that artificial intelligence is likely to affect 60% of jobs in advanced economies and 40% of job opportunities around the world during the next two years.

“We have little time to prepare people and companies for this,” she added at the conference organized by the Swiss Institute for International Studies, linked to the University of Zurich.

“Artificial intelligence can lead to a huge increase in productivity if we can manage it well, but it can also lead to more misinformation and, of course, more inequality in our society,” she said.

Georgieva said that the global economy has become more vulnerable to shocks in the past few years, pointing to the Corona pandemic in 2020, as well as the war in Ukraine.

Although she expected more shocks, especially due to the climate crisis, she believes that the economy is still remarkably resilient.

"We are not in a global recession," Georgieva said.

She added, "Last year there were fears that most economies would slide into recession, and that did not happen. Inflation, which hit us so hard, is declining, almost everywhere."

While heading to the conference, Georgieva was harassed by demonstrators demanding action on climate change and addressing the debts of the developing world.