Russians fear losing jobs to AI – poll 

The majority of Russians believe the world will be dependent on artificial intelligence (AI) in the near future, while 39% fear their jobs could be replaced by the technology, a survey by VTB bank has found.  

According to the poll results published on Thursday, 55% of Russians working in banking and finance believe AI could jeopardize their jobs. Their concerns are shared by 45% of IT specialists and 44% of those employed in trade and catering. Workers in transportation (39%), healthcare (38%), manufacturing (37%), education (34%,) and construction (31%) also fear they could be displaced by automation, the study by the Russian bank showed.  

More than half of those polled (58%) are concerned about AI potentially getting out of control, although 67% of respondents believe industries cannot develop without innovative technology.   

Of those surveyed, 10% said they would hand over management of their personal finances to AI. Only 8% would be willing to entrust their lives and health to a machine, data showed.   

“Sooner or later, machine-learning technologies will dominate most of the services around us. But such technologies can never replace human intelligence,” said Maksim Konovalikin, head of the data analysis department at VTB, as cited by a press release.

Last year, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) warned that the AI “revolution” could jeopardize 27% of jobs within the 38-member bloc. Even though there are currently few signs that AI could cause significant disruption to the labor market, numerous jobs are already at risk, the Paris-based organization said in its 2023 Employment Outlook.

Goldman Sachs also predicted last year that generative AI such as ChatGPT could replace up to 300 million full-time jobs worldwide. According to the investment bank’s estimates, roughly two-thirds of jobs in the US and Europe are exposed to “some degree of AI automation,” while generative AI could be used as a substitute for a quarter of current jobs.

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