Generative AI probably will not take over most people's jobs entirely but will instead automate a portion of their duties, freeing them up to do other tasks, a UN study said.
It warned, however, that clerical work would likely be the hardest hit, potentially hitting female employment harder, given women's over-representation in this sector, especially in wealthier countries.
An explosion of interest in generative AI and its chatbot applications such as the chatGPT platform for generative AI has sparked fears over job destruction, similar to those that emerged when the moving assembly line was introduced in the early 1900s and after mainframe computers in the 1950s.
This study comes, in light of the growing concern about the potential impact of technology.
However, the study produced by the International Labour Organization concludes that: "Most jobs and industries are only partially exposed to automation and are thus more likely to be complemented rather than substituted by AI."
This means that "the most important impact of the technology is likely to be of augmenting work", it adds.
The occupation likely to be most affected by GenAI - capable of generating text, images, sounds, animation, 3D models and other data - is clerical work, where about a quarter of tasks are highly exposed to potential automation, the study says.
But most other professions, like managers and sales workers, are only marginally exposed, it said.
It found that that 5.5% of total employment in high-income countries is potentially exposed to the automating effects of the technology, whereas in low-income countries, the risk of automation concerns only some 0.4% of employment.
On the other hand, the potential for augmentation is nearly equal across countries, suggesting that with the right policies in place, this new wave of technological transformation could offer important benefits for developing countries.
It cautioned though that while augmentation could indicate positive developments, like automating routine tasks to free up time for more engaging work, adding that it can also be implemented in a way that limits workers' agency or accelerates work intensity.
Therefore, countries should design policies to support an orderly, fair, and consultative shift, the study said, stressing that outcomes of the technological transition are not pre-determined.
