This year is set to be the year in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) comes to the fore in almost every sector from transport to medicine. Although I am not using AI to write this article, I am typing it on a so-called Copilot PC, Microsoft’s nomenclature for a laptop equipped with cloud-based AI assistance based on ChatGPT. On my android phone and Chromebook, I can summon Gemini, Google’s AI assistant while I can ask a question from Siri, Apple’s voice assistant infused with AI on my iPad. There is no escape from AI even if I want to.
This is exciting but also frightening at the same time. There is a fundamental fear that some jobs could go the way of the Dodo if AI has its way. For example, what if the AI Chatbots get so advanced that human customer service agents are no longer required or relevant?
But before we get ahead of ourselves, what exactly is AI? I turned to, well, AI itself for the answer. Since I already had a Chrome tab open on my PC, I fired up Gemini and asked this very same question. (I hope Copilot didn’t find out I was having a conversation with its rival). It didn’t even take one second for Gemini to come back with an answer.
Human intelligence
“AI is a field of science that studies how to create machines that can perform tasks that usually require human intelligence. AI systems use algorithms, data, and computational power to simulate human intelligence.”
Even though I didn’t even ask for any additional details, Gemini also came up with the following responses. “AI systems can learn from data and improve their performance over time. AI systems can interact with the environment and understand human language. AI systems can perform complex tasks that require reasoning, such as problem-solving and making decisions. AI systems can automate repetitive tasks, freeing up humans to work on more creative tasks.”
Gemini also told me that AI basically has three components – Machine Learning (ML, AI systems that learn from data), Computer Vision (CV, AI systems that interpret visual information) and Natural Language Processing (NLP, AI systems that understand and generate human language). Whichever way you look at it, this explanation (from AI itself) looks like a surefire way of taking some human jobs away.
I wanted to find an answer, but instead of turning to AI this time too, I turned to experts at the World Economic Forum (WEF) who are very much human. The WEF has been tracking changes in the job market for several years and the results are published every year in a report titled, “The Future of Jobs”. The WEF takes into account a variety of factors including changing dynamics in AI, robotics, education, Economy and Cost of Living, technology, engineering, transport, energy, communication, houses and some other factors in compiling this comprehensive global report.
According to the WEF, technological change, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts and the green transition – individually and in combination are among the major drivers expected to shape and transform the global labour market by 2030. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 brings together the perspectives of over 1,000 leading global employers—collectively representing more than 14 million workers across 22 industry clusters and 55 economies from around the world—to examine how these macrotrends impact jobs and skills, and the workforce transformation strategies employers plan to embark on in response, across the 2025 to 2030 timeframe.
Broadening digital access is expected to be the most transformative trend – both across technology-related trends and overall – with 60 percent of employers expecting it to transform their business by 2030. Advancements in technologies, particularly AI and information processing (86 percent); robotics and automation (58 percent); and energy generation, storage and distribution (41 percent), are also expected to be transformative. These trends are expected to have a divergent effect on jobs, driving both the fastest-growing and fastest-declining roles, and fuelling demand for technology-related skills, including AI and Big Data, networks and cyber security and technological literacy, which are anticipated to be the top three fastest-growing skills.
My main aim in going through this detailed report was to find the most in-demand jobs by 2030, along with those that will experience a decline. To quote verbatim from the Future of Jobs report, on current trends over the 2025 to 2030 period, job creation and destruction due to structural labour-market transformation will be 22 percent of today’s total jobs.
This is expected to entail the creation of new jobs equivalent to 14 percent of today’s total employment, amounting to 170 million jobs worldwide. However, this growth is expected to be offset by the displacement of the equivalent of eight percent (or 92 million) of current jobs, resulting in net growth of seven percent of total employment, or 78 million jobs.
Other trends
According to the report, the top 10 most in-demand jobs by 2030 will be in the fields of Big Data, Financial Technology (fintech), AI and ML, software development, cybersecurity management, data warehousing, electric and driverless vehicles, User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX), delivery services and Internet of Things (IOT). On the other hand, the jobs that are in danger of sliding into oblivion are in the postal services, banks (especially tellers and clerks), Data Entry, Point of Sale (POS), Admin services, printing, accounting and bookkeeping, stock taking, public transport (conductors) and door-to-door sales.
Among other trends, the largest growth in absolute terms of volume includes Farm workers, Delivery Drivers, Construction Workers, Salespersons, and Food Processing Workers. Care economy jobs, such as Nursing Professionals, Social Work and Counselling Professionals and Personal Care Aides are also expected to grow significantly over the next five years, alongside Education roles such as Tertiary and Secondary Education Teachers.
Some surprising trends have emerged from the above observations. The growth of the gig economy (ride hailing, food and parcel delivery) has been unrelenting, fuelled in part by e-commerce. This explains the increasing demand for delivery drivers. With Amazon US alone getting 18 orders every second, one can imagine the sheer scale of parcel delivery worldwide. This, of course, requires truck drivers and motorcycle riders. The rising demand for teachers is not surprising at all, especially in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, including AI.
On the other side of the equation, it is not difficult to understand the decline in demand for jobs in sectors such as banking and postal services. I, for one, have not sent a paper letter or document to anyone in ages. Why should I, when I can share a document with anyone anywhere in the world instantly via email or Google Drive? Paradoxically, while the demand is declining for postal clerks, postmen are on better ground as parcel volumes go up.
Some jobs in the banking sectors are taking a hit as Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs) are everywhere, apart from the ubiquitous smartphone banking apps. Now, it is possible to do all banking transactions on the phone without ever meeting a teller in person. Many supermarkets, including a few in Sri Lanka, have self-checkout counters, which obviate the need for human cashiers. Most buses and trains in cities around the world accept credit, debit and prepaid cards – no human conductor is required.
This naturally led me to think about creative fields such as journalism, photography and graphics. AI can certainly augment journalism, but it cannot replace the journalist per se. Will AI ever gain the human insight that makes writing a unique vocation? In my opinion, that is not likely to happen in the foreseeable future, though at some point AI could achieve cognitive thinking. Will AI ever be able to frame a photograph in the way that a skilled photographer can? However, AI is already used by some software programs and cameras for enhancing photographs.
Graphic design and art could, however, be under threat as the WEF report indicates – some AI programs can already conjure up images with just a text input. I just asked an AI program to draw up an image of a man riding a bicycle on an alien planet and it came up with not one, but four, very realistic images. Some programs such as Sora can even do short video clips based on text input.
But even in the age of AI, there is plenty of room for human intelligence (called HUMINT in military jargon) and thinking. Analytical thinking remains the most sought- after core skill among employers, with seven out of 10 companies considering it as essential in 2025. This is followed by resilience, flexibility and agility, along with leadership and social influence.
Given the evolving skill demands, the scale of workforce upskilling and reskilling expected to be needed remains significant: if the world’s workforce was made up of 100 people, 59 would need training by 2030. Of these, employers foresee that 29 could be upskilled in their current roles and 19 could be upskilled and redeployed elsewhere within their organisation. However, 11 would be unlikely to receive the reskilling or upkskilling needed, leaving their employment prospects increasingly at risk.
Biggest barrier
Skill gaps are categorically considered the biggest barrier to business transformation by Future of Jobs Survey respondents, with 63 percent of employers identifying them as a major barrier over the 2025- 2030 period. Accordingly, 85 percent of employers surveyed plan to prioritise upskilling their workforce, with 70 percent of employers expecting to hire staff with new skills, 40 percent planning to reduce staff as their skills become less relevant, and 50 percent planning to transition staff from declining to growing roles. Funding for – and provision of – reskilling and upskilling are seen as the two most welcomed public policies to boost talent availability.
Both employer and employees must come to terms with AI, which will not go away. The WEF found that half of the employers surveyed plan to re-orient their business in response to AI, a two-thirds plan to hire talent with specific AI skills, while 40 percent anticipate reducing their workforce in situations where AI can automate tasks. This essentially means that AI knowledge will be indispensable for those looking for a job in the next few years, when AI is likely to take over almost every facet of our lives.
