Digital automation and artificial intelligence have raised concerns in many sectors about how they could displace humans in the tasks they do every day. In a similar reaction to the Luddites of the nineteenth century, many people come to fear the advancement of this technology, because they see their work roles relegated by machines. However, new studies currently show that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could have an opposite effect on jobs than predicted by many.
The incorporation of AI into the economy will bring significant benefits, of which the leading three would be better jobs, more productivity, and higher economic growth, according to research conducted by DuckerFrontier.
DuckFrontier’s research, focused on Chile, indicates that in a scenario where the country adopts AI and maximizes its use, GDP could reach 6.1% in 2030 by doubling its expected growth.
The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence in the production of Latin America will also cause a higher demand for specialists in this area, in addition to helping productivity to triple. This situation will allow companies to do more in less time. As a result, jobs that require better-qualified professionals will grow by 26%, a fact that would benefit all economic sectors.
Chile, the best-prepared LatAm country in AI
According to the DuckFrontier study, Chile is the country that in Latin America is better prepared to take advantage of the benefits of AI, thanks to its human capital, innovation environment, and technological ecosystem.
For AI to generate more opportunities among people, a critical point that Latin American countries must observe is the retraining of their staff so that they know how to take advantage of this technology and implement it in their work processes.
“Companies, NGOs, academia, and government have to work together to ensure that everyone can acquire the necessary digital skills. Our country has a great opportunity that we can embrace,” said Sergio Rademacher, general manager of Microsoft Chile.
Rademacher also highlighted the impact AI is having on all areas of our lives, which includes the workplace. The manager highlighted how he could contribute to economic growth and the generation of higher quality jobs.
Faced with fears of job losses due to the incorporation of new technology, the manager mentioned that “History has shown us that every industrial revolution has required new learning and retraining. In this new paradigm, it is imperative to acquire digital skills to generate more opportunities for all Chileans. Today the call is to acquire digital skills, not only in new generations but also in those who are already working.” For this reason, Rademacher mentioned that Microsoft is interested in working with public and private institutions with which it seeks to contribute to retraining people in the country.
Better jobs in Chile with an AI incorporation in the industry
The AI would not only increase jobs in Chile but also help improve their quality. If the potential of AI in the country is maximized, it could generate from 18% and up to 42% of new jobs. Also, if the country invests in the requalification of existing workers and the training of new employees, high-skilled jobs could increase from 40% to 54%.
This impact would be reflected in all industries, which would have significant gains in requalification, which translates into a generalized improvement in wages. In the Public Sector, business and mining services, more than half of the jobs would be highly qualified, while in others such as Construction, one in three jobs will be of this nature, increasing 11 percentage points regarding current projections without maximum AI adoption.
Along with increasing jobs, the study reveals that the country’s productivity would also be highly benefited by AI, tripling its growth in 2030. DuckerFrontier explains that this is because workers will have the ability to produce the same in less time, thanks to the automation of specific tasks.
The study indicates that better jobs and higher productivity translate into more significant economic growth. DuckerFrontier estimates that the average growth between 2018 and 2030 is 3.2% without including AI in production processes. If the benefits of the maximum use of AI in the country are added to this estimate, the average annual growth would be 6.1%.
To achieve this, according to the analysis, there is a primary challenge: to ensure equal opportunities. It is necessary to retrain workers in the new skills and tools required by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, bringing technology in an innovative way to companies, educational establishments, and people.
Within the countries of the region (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, and Costa Rica), Chile is the country best prepared to generate and take advantage of the opportunities offered by Artificial Intelligence according to the AI Readiness Index. IA) developed by DuckerFrontier. Eight were the pillars evaluated to determine this index, and Chile was in the first position in four of these: Innovation Environment, Institutional Strength and Transparency, Technological Ecosystem, and, above all, Human Capital.
Microsoft in Chile makes alliances with universities and social organizations
In Chile, there are initiatives for professionals to be retrained and use AI. For example, Microsoft offers AI Business School and Microsoft Learn in the country. These platforms offer free online training and in Spanish, intending to transform education.
Microsoft has forged alliances at different levels in Chile, such as local universities, businesses, and social organizations. The company, with 27 years in the South American country, now seeks to contribute to the retraining and retraining that Chile requires to take advantage of the potential of AI in the country and the Duoc UC School of Administration and Business signed a Transformational Education Agreement. Also, the AI Business School initiative is now available in Chile, a free platform in Spanish with business and industry courses, focused on those who want to learn more about Artificial Intelligence and technology to enable a culture prepared for AI. The business school complements other learning initiatives in Microsoft technologies, such as Microsoft Learn, platform with technical courses in Spanish including Artificial Intelligence, as well as AI Schoolcentrada in developers and Microsoft Professional Program for Artificial Intelligence, which provides work skills and experience in the real world for engineers and others looking to improve their skills in AI and data science.
The firm also actively promotes various training support programs, such as those carried out with the NGO Innovanova, giving more than 1,200 women and young people digital tools to develop their ventures and with KODEA and Laboratory to teach more than 450 young people to be developers.
The company continues with the Digigirlz program, a community that seeks to encourage girls and young people to pursue careers in the areas of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), with a playful approach to programming and the possibility of connecting with women leaders in the industry, while advancing in its commitment to train in digital skills for 5,000 young people in computational thinking and digital skills in conjunction with different NGOs. Thus, female inclusion in the labor market is enhanced, thinking about the work of the future and the new capacities that must be developed.