Human
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND: The head of the International Monetary Fund warned Friday that artificial intelligence is on course to batter global labor markets with a "tsunami" of job disruption, threatening entry-level roles and squeezing middle-class workers unless policymakers act swiftly.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, speaking at the World Economic Forum here, said IMF research shows AI will increasingly transform or replace work across sectors, with young people and new entrants to the workforce among the hardest hit. "Tasks that are eliminated are usually what entry-level jobs do at present, so young people searching for jobs find it harder to get to a good placement," she said, underlining concerns that traditional ladders into employment are eroding.
Georgieva reiterated that the pace of technological change has outstripped efforts to ensure its benefits are shared broadly. "This is moving so fast, and yet we don't know how to make it safe [and] inclusive," she said, urging governments and employers to rethink training, regulation and safety nets to protect vulnerable workers.
IMF analysis indicates that in advanced economies up to 60 % of jobs could be affected — either enhanced, transformed or eliminated — while around 40 % of jobs globally face disruption. That could reshape the labor market just as Generation Z and new graduates enter it.
Georgieva also warned that workers whose roles are not directly augmented by AI risk wage stagnation, potentially deepening inequality across societies. Her remarks echo wider debate at the forum about how to harness AI's economic benefits while minimizing social costs and ensuring equitable opportunities for the next generation of workers.
