AI Costs More than Human Staff for Most Jobs — MIT Report

“AI will take jobs” has been a prevailing narrative but MIT’s new study in U.S. says otherwise - Humans are still more affordable for most tasks.

“We find that at today’s costs, U.S. businesses would choose not to automate most vision tasks that have ‘AI Exposure,’ and that only 23% of worker wages being paid for vision tasks would be attractive to automate,” reads the paper.

The researchers caution against overlooking the gradual nature of AI's impact, underscoring reductions and increased scale, such as AI-as-a-service platforms.

As per the report, fears of mass job displacement by AI might be far fetched. It dismissed the previous reports for their lack of clarity about timelines, tech power, scales and economic practicality.

Instead, it emphasises the economic considerations and the gradual nature of AI's impact on job displacement. The study suggests that AI's transformative power in the future depends on factors such as reduced deployment costs and the scalability of AI systems.

The study conducted an exhaustive examination of 1,000 visually assisted tasks in 800 occupations, finding that, even with a 20% annual cost reduction, it could take decades for computer vision tasks to become financially viable.

However, recently, IMF report revealed that almost 40% of global employment is exposed to AI, with about 60% of jobs in advanced economies being more susceptible to AI's impact.