Artificial intelligence and platforms: opportunities for new employment

Specialists in big data, engineers who are experts in technology applied to finance, and personnel specialised in artificial intelligence and machine learning. These are the three professions that will experience the strongest growth in the next five years according to the World economic forum's 'Future of Jobs Report' 2025. The names are complicated and may discourage workers already well into their careers. But the good news - at least according to this report - is that the great labour revolution currently underway, which is inextricably linked to the digital, environmental and demographic transition, should result in an overall positive balance in terms of employment. Specifically, the World Economic Forum estimates that 170 million new jobs will be created globally by 2030, while 92 million roles could be eliminated (8 per cent of total employment), a net increase of 78 million jobs. In between these two extremes, and without prejudice to the critical issues for workers who risk being cut out of the market (see also Paolo Benanti's article in Il Sole 24 Ore of 20 August), there are millions of positions and roles (78% of global employment) that may be destined to change by virtue of technological evolution, but at least not to disappear.

"Employment balances will be better where, as a territory, companies and people, we prepare for the new era by really investing in technologies and skills," explains Marco Bentivogli, an expert on innovation, industry and labour, and former member of the commission on artificial intelligence at the Ministry of Economic Development from 2019 to 2021. 'If we look at the last three stages of technological evolution,' he continues, 'advanced robotics, in itself, clears and generates jobs with a positive balance. The countries with the highest density of robotics, i.e. with a higher number of robots per 10,000 workers, are those with the lowest unemployment. Digitalisation erases routine and repetitive tasks and enhances those with greater cognitive engagement. The advent of artificial intelligence shakes up the scenario again. And the issue is much more serious than 'how many jobs we will lose'. It is about using a method to understand trends. Out of the 804 professions that ISTAT censuses in Italy,' Bentivogli continues, 'artificial intelligence will have three different levels of impact: it will generate new professions that are unknown today, it will delete others, and finally it will integrate, enhance and support existing professions. The third effect,' he concludes, 'will be the most relevant'.

In the draft of the Guidelines for the implementation of AI in the world of work, put out for consultation in recent months by the Ministry of Labour and still being drawn up, the impact that artificial intelligence can have on a number of professions is outlined. This is the case, for example, with machine learning (a branch of AI that enables computer systems to learn from data) in the health sector, which could support doctors in the early diagnosis of diseases, predictive analysis and personalised medicine. In finance, machine learning can help traders in risk management and fraud detection, while in marketing it can help to personalise advertising campaigns and perform predictive analysis on consumer behaviour.

Generative artificial intelligence can help trainers in education to create interactive and customised learning materials. Computer vision, which allows systems to analyse and interpret images and videos, can be used in the field of security for surveillance and biometric recognition, while in mobility and automotive it can help create autonomous vehicles and driver assistance systems.

These are all examples of how artificial intelligence could integrate and improve work: the main challenges remain to ensure the accessibility of Ia systems to all companies, including small and medium-sized ones (e.g. through Ia Competence Centres spread throughout the territory), and to support the training of workers, in order to avoid a gap between those who can develop new skills and those who cannot, remaining cut off from the market. And of course, promoting responsible, inclusive use of artificial intelligence in line with workers' rights and protections. However, it remains to be shown that the replacement of human labour by automated systems, for example in customer service, is as effective and efficient as the support provided by staff and leads to a real increase in productivity.