AI will create more jobs than it will destroy

Half a million new jobs could be created by 2020, Gartner report claims.

Improvements in Artificial Intelligence technologies can only lead to a temporary job loss. After that, it will actually lead to many more jobs created. This is according to a new report released by market analysts Gartner.

According to Gartner, by the time we reach 2020, AI will have created 2.3 million jobs. It will have destroyed 1.8 million jobs, too. Manufacturing will be the industry that will get hit hard by AI, while healthcare, education and the public sector will see significant growth.

Every great new tech breakthrough has led to job loss, Gartner says, albeit temporary.

"Many significant innovations in the past have been associated with a transition period of temporary job loss, followed by recovery, then business transformation and AI will likely follow this route," said Svetlana Sicular, research vice president at Gartner.

Millions of middle and low-level positions will get eliminated, but high-skilled and management positions will get a significant boost. Gartner even argues that some entry-level and low-skilled jobs will see an increase, as well.

"Unfortunately, most calamitous warnings of job losses confuse AI with automation — that overshadows the greatest AI benefit — AI augmentation — a combination of human and artificial intelligence, where both complement each other."

By 2022, every fifth worker will rely on AI to do something for them, while multichannel retailer efforts to replace sales associates through AI will prove unsuccessful.