2023-05-05 19:22:48
updated
Artificial intelligence«In the future we will no longer have enough people to fill all the jobs»
“More technology – fewer jobs,” writes the Greater Zurich Area in its annual report. Will AIs soon snatch our jobs away from us? Managing Director Sonja Wollkopf Walt comments.
Artificial intelligence is now well advanced and is also stirring up the music industry.
20min/Tarek El Sayed
That’s what it’s about
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Foreign companies that are new to the Zurich economic area created around 19 percent fewer jobs in 2022 than in the previous year.
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According to the Greater Zurich Area (GZA), one reason for this is the mega trend towards automation.
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When AIs make jobs superfluous, better job opportunities open up for employees elsewhere, says Sonja Wollkopf Walt, the managing director of GZA.
The Greater Zurich Area (GZA) organization and its partners settled 108 foreign companies in the Zurich economic area last year. In 2022, these companies created 516 jobs in Switzerland – that’s 19 percent fewer than in 2021. At that time they created 639 new jobs.
“More technology – fewer jobs,” says the GZA annual report. So is there cause for concern? And are AIs and automation now destroying thousands of jobs in Switzerland? Managing Director Sonja Wollkopf Walt comments.
Sonja Wollkopf Walt, Managing Director of the Greater Zurich Area organization, comments on the effects of AIs and automation on Switzerland.
Greater Zurich Area
The GZA annual report speaks of a “major change in the employment structure”. What does that mean exactly?
The Greater Zurich Area is an economic region that is constantly developing. In the last 25 years, traditional sectors such as industry, construction and trade have lost importance, but specialized services, ICT and medtech have gained in importance.
What impact does this have on employment?
The share of employment in skill-intensive sectors has increased. According to the WEF, machines will take over a significant proportion of the tasks by 2027. However, the impact of most technologies on jobs is expected to be net positive over the next five years.
So is there anything to worry about?
The development is positive for the Zurich location. The working population will shrink in Europe in the coming years. In the future we will simply not be enough people to fill all the jobs.
And AIs are the solution?
If jobs in one place are made obsolete and automated by AI, new, better job opportunities open up for employees elsewhere. Many people still spend too much time doing simple jobs that could long since be automated. This is unproductive and prevents progress.
“Many people still spend too much time doing simple jobs that could be automated. That prevents progress.”
Don’t companies save so much money through AIs and automation that they no longer have to invest in Switzerland?
You cant say it like that. Many well-known companies maintain their research and development centers in the Zurich economic area, which entails investments. No company can do without partners, customers and suppliers – this also applies to companies that use AI.
Nevertheless: 19 percent fewer new jobs because of automation – isn’t that worrying?
The number of newly created jobs has tended to decline over the past three years. But that has not only to do with AI and automation, but also with changing requirements. But the use of new technologies and the automation of production processes are also having an effect. In addition, international companies are pushing the cross-border division of labor.
“The number of newly created jobs has tended to decline in the last three years.”
How does this affect the Swiss labor market?
One consequence of this is that research and development is carried out in Switzerland, for example, but labour-intensive functions are operated more cheaply abroad.
Are companies reluctant to settle in Switzerland because they use AIs and because automation and robotics mean that it is no longer necessary to come to Switzerland?
No, the opposite is the case. Switzerland is very attractive for companies that rely on AI and robotics. It is interesting that more traditional sectors such as food, life science and the construction industry are now increasingly relying on AI and blockchain applications.
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