IBM Study: 40 Percent of Employees Have to Retrain Because of AI

A new study by IBM shows that generative AI models such as ChatGPT will not lead to massive job losses in the coming years. However, executives expect AI implementations to change employee requirements and 40 per cent of their employees will need to be retrained in the next three years.

In addition, 87 per cent of executives assume that generative AI will complement employees’ tasks rather than replace them entirely. The study surveyed 3000 executives in 28 countries and 21,000 workers in 22 countries.

IBM also expects companies that successfully retrain their employees to adapt to technology-driven workplace changes to achieve an average 15 per cent higher revenue growth rate than their peers. If companies focus on adopting AI, growth is even expected to be 36 per cent higher on average.

“AI will not replace people – but people who use AI will replace people who don’t,” IBM said in the study.

The study also concludes that tools like ChatGPT enable workers to do more with less knowledge. This is said to lead to a shift in the priority of technical skills. According to IBM, STEM skills were the most important skill in 2016, but by 2023 they are expected to be the lowest priority. Instead, team skills, effective communication and the willingness to adapt to change are now particularly in demand.