- The MIT report finds that 11.7% of the current US workforce could be replaced by artificial intelligence
- That doesn’t mean they will be – but their skills can be copied
- MIT’s study is a great tool for policymakers to target specific populations
A new MIT study shows that 11.7% of the US labor market can currently be replaced by artificial intelligence, representing a loss of $1.2 trillion in wages across sectors such as finance and healthcare.
The study bases its numbers on the Iceberg Index, a work simulation tool built jointly between MIT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which analyzes 151 million American workers, 923 different occupations and over 32,000 skills.
MIT divides AI’s effects on the US workforce into ‘visible’ impacts, such as technology sector layoffs and role changes, and ‘hidden’ impacts, such as changes in HR, logistics and administration.
AI job threats
Although “visible” job losses in technology and computing roles are largely concentrated in technology centers, “hidden” layoffs are much broader geographically, covering all 50 states, including rural areas, not just cities.
States such as Delaware, South Dakota, North Carolina and Utah show higher ‘hidden’ exposure than California, which is home to a large concentration of technology companies.
MIT emphasized that the Iceberg Index is not a job loss prediction tool, but rather a tool to help visualize what tasks AI can already handle. But it has still proven useful in policymaking, with Tennessee citing Iceberg in its official AI Workforce Action Plan and Utah preparing a similar move.
Senator DeAndrea Salvador of North Carolina also praised the index for its county-level detail (it covers about 3,000 U.S. counties), which is useful for mapping economic impacts at a local scale.
MIT explains that the research can be useful for policy makers to identify exposure hotspots in order to prioritize education, upskilling and infrastructure investments. These places could also be good testing grounds before the United States commits to spending billions on workforce programs.
“The Iceberg Index provides measurable intelligence for critical workforce decisions: where to invest in training, what skills to prioritize, how to balance infrastructure with human capital,” the researchers concluded.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, video unboxings, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
