Impact of emerging tech and AI on jobs: Are companies and workers ready?

AT the recent SLID-Huawei CXO Forum, I posed a question to the keynote speaker and panel: What is the real impact of AI on jobs? The panel unanimously acknowledged that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies are rapidly reshaping industries, skills and workplaces—ushering in an era of unprecedented innovation, efficiency, and business transformation.

- By Dinesh Weerakkody

Yet, alongside these advances come pressing concerns—particularly regarding their implications for employment, migration, and livelihoods. As Dr. Gita Gopinath, First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, notes, Al's full impact on productivity remains uncertain, but what is clear is the urgent need to strengthen both digital infrastructure and human capital (IMF Insight).

As AI systems become more sophisticated—taking on tasks once reserved solely for humans—two fundamental questions emerge: Are companies ready to integrate AI strategically and responsibly into their workplaces? And are workers equipped to navigate the shifting landscape—not just to survive, but to protect and grow their livelihoods?

A profound impact

AI's influence on employment is multifaceted. On one hand, it excels at automating routine and repetitive tasks from data entry and basic analytics to assembly line operations, routine business decisions, and even standardised customer service via chatbots and AI agents. This automation brings clear benefits: greater productivity, consistent service delivery, cost efficiencies, and improved accuracy. In manufacturing, robotic automation is fast becoming the norm, while in services, AI is streamlining customer experiences and boosting satisfaction through stable delivery. However, these efficiencies come at a human cost. Jobs grounded in repetitive or procedural work are highly vulnerable, putting workers especially in labour-intensive industries at risk of displacement and financial insecurity.