The transformative role of AI in reshaping employment trends across South Asia

Md. Azizur Rahman and Salma Akter
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Salma Akter: East West University,Dhaka,Bangladesh

Romanian Journal of Economics, 2024, vol. 59, issue 2(68), 48-71

Abstract: Background: The worldwide spread of AI alone, reaching 132.2 billion dollars in 2022, showed the disruptive potential of the technology. According to forecasts, by 2030, AI would create 800 million and erase 730 million jobs, hence calling for a deeper analysis of how AI is changing work. AI-related jobs naturally increased 338% relative to 2015-2020, given that by 2025, half of the workforce would have to be upskilled to keep in step with the improvement of AI. Objective: The influence of AI on job patterns will be analyzed in this research, focusing on the delicate balance between job creation and job displacement. Considering these processes, we will be guiding stakeholders toward solutions supportive of both innovation and adaptability. Methodology: This would explicitly follow a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative data, such as industry reports and surveys, with in-depth qualitative interviews with regional specialists, experts, and key informants across South Asia, to bring into view critical emergent patterns in the areas of AI investment, adoption rates, job creation, and displacement, and any skill transfers that may be occurring. Results: AI-driven job creation, displacement, and skill transition exhibit a buoyant landscape in South Asia. Automation-induced job losses are widespread but generally compensated for new opportunities, especially in IT, manufacturing, and health. India creates more IT jobs than it loses in traditional manufacturing. Experts support the reskilling projects in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Sri Lanka's focus on AI in tourism creates new jobs and ameliorates the loss somewhere else. These findings raise the need for South Asian governments to make necessary investments in training programs that are matched to global trends. Originality: This research is unique because it leads an investigation into why skeptics consider slow AI adoption in South Asia, and it further creates valuable insights into the global implications of AI.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Job displacement; Job creation; South Asia; Quantitative analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J21 J23 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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