Artificial intelligence: What will the future of work look like?

Artificial intelligence will have a significant impact on the work of the future, that much is clear. However, the exact effects are still largely unpredictable. As a new framework for orientation, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has now published a study that examines the consequences of the use of generative AI for the labor market. One key finding is that AI will not replace human labor, but rather augment and complement it. While some easily automatable jobs can be taken over by AI, the time freed up as a result can be used for new activities that require human thinking and planning skills. Pure office and administrative tasks could disappear in the future, but other industries will feel the effects of AI less. In addition to the industry-based analysis, the study also examines country-specific impacts and finds that countries with higher incomes are particularly affected: 5.5% of all jobs are potentially automatable in these countries, compared to only 0.4% in countries with lower incomes. Gender-specific consequences could also be measured: at 3.7%, the proportion of women affected by AI-based automation is twice as high as the proportion of men (1.4%) worldwide. This can be attributed primarily to the type of work performed, with women tending to be found in industries with easily automatable office tasks.

We were also interested in the following topics:

• Legal situation: The internet is not a legal vacuum – not even for private chat groups. This is demonstrated by a recent ruling by the Federal Labor Court: Employees of a company were dismissed after offensive, racist, and sexist content in a WhatsApp chat group became public, which was directed in particular against colleagues and superiors. The details of the ruling can be found at ntv.

• Training: Although the number of new training contracts rose slightly in 2022, it remains low, especially compared to previous years. It is striking that women in particular are signing more training contracts than in the previous year. The ZDF summarizes the developments in the individual sectors.

• Parents at work: It is rare for both parents to work full-time when their children are still young. Two families tell the Tagesspiegel (€) how this model can be implemented and what their experiences have been.

• Onboarding: More and more newly hired employees are signing their employment contracts but never starting the job. A survey by the recruiting company softgarden estimates that around 10% of job seekers have already done this “ghosting.” The reasons for this have been compiled by Spiegel.

• Medium-sized companies: The cabinet meeting is currently taking place in Meseberg. To mark the occasion, medium-sized and family-owned companies in Germany have presented a ten-point plan aimed at strengthening the economy – details in the SZ.

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