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Gen-AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work

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This session will discuss the recent study the IMF titled Gen-AI: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work. The paper suggests that advanced economies should experience the benefits and pitfalls of AI sooner than emerging market and developing economies, largely due to their employment structure focused on cognitive-intensive roles. It also observes some consistent patterns concerning AI exposure, with women and college-educated individuals more exposed but also better poised to reap AI benefits, and older workers potentially less able to adapt to the new technology.

The authors suggest that labor income inequality may increase if the complementarity between AI and high-income workers is strong, while capital returns might increase wealth inequality. However, they also observe that if productivity gains are sufficiently large, income levels could surge for most workers. They propose that advanced economies and more developed emerging markets should focus on upgrading regulatory frameworks and supporting labor reallocation, while safeguarding those adversely affected. On the other hand, they suggest that emerging market and developing economies should prioritize developing digital infrastructure and digital skills.

The session will consist of the presentation of the paper and a follow up discussion, including questions from the audience.

Authors: Mauro Cazzaniga, Florence Jaumotte, Longji Li, Giovanni Melina, Augustus J. Panton, Carlo Pizzinelli, Emma Rockall, and Marina M. Tavares

Link to paper: IMF SDN AI

Speakers

Marina Tavares

Economist

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Marina M. Tavares is an Economist in the Climate Change Structural Reforms Division of the IMF’s Research Department. Before joining RES, Marina led the working group on the interconnections between macroeconomic policy and inequality under FCDO-IMF Collaboration. Her research interests include macroeconomics, labor markets, AI, climate change, gender, and inequality. Before joining the Fund, Ms. Tavares worked as an assistant professor at Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), and she holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Minnesota.

Moderators

Pawel Gmyrek

Senior Researcher

International Labour Organization (ILO)

Pawel Gmyrek is a Senior Researcher in the Effective Labour Institutions unit of ILO’s Research Department. His current work is focused on the impact of generative AI on employment and occupational structures and on the use of generative AI tools and large unstructured datasets for research purposes. He is a co-moderator of the new AI for Good series on AI and Work. Pawel holds a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations from University of Geneva, Switzerland, and a Master’s degree from Warsaw School of Economics, Poland. He has been staff member of the ILO since 2008.