ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, highlighted the likely positive impact of AI on job creation while cautioning against potential challenges in the labour market.

PARIS (ILO News) – ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, called for a human-centred approach to artificial intelligence (AI) that enhances workplace productivity and worker well-being at the AI Action Summit in Paris on 10 February.

Drawing on ILO data, the Director-General noted that AI stands to have a net positive impact on employment. “While jobs are being lost, many new jobs can be created. We expect that the gap between jobs destroyed and created will be in favour of the latter,” he explained.

The challenge, Houngbo told the attendees at the Summit, lies in the quality of the new jobs that AI will help create, and the impact on existing inequalities within the labour market. The Director-General drew particular attention to the fact that women are more likely to be affected by automation than men, posing a risk of widening the gender pay gap.

Houngbo urged attendees to pay closer attention to the quality of AI-created employment, to ensure that jobs in the AI sector are decent and secure. He emphasized the need to invest significantly in developing tailored skills that would benefit the global workforce and prevent disparities in AI's fast-paced progress in shaping the future of work.

“We need to ensure that AI benefits all, through greater investments in upskilling and reskilling, including by the public sector, to ensure we can overcome the digital divide,” he recommended. Houngbo further called for greater social dialogue. “Only through social dialogue can workers, employers and governments come together to tackle the complex issues surrounding AI and employment and ensure that all work is decent work.”

The ILO is at the forefront of research and discussion about the impact of AI on the world of work. Its recently launched ILO Observatory on Artificial Intelligence and Work in the Digital Economy deepens data research to better understand what the future of work will look like in a digital era. It aims to support governments and social partners through the digital transformation in the world of work.