White-collar jobs to be most affected by AI technologies, report argues

A new report released by the Brookings Institution suggests that white-collar jobs (better-paid professionals with bachelor’s degree), along with manufacturing and production workers, will be the most affected by the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. AI is expected to have a significant influence over the future work lives of relatively well-paid managers, supervisors, and analysts, as well as factory workers who are increasingly well educated. Contrary to many previous studies, this research argues that AI ‘may be much less of a factor in the work of most lower-paid service workers’. It also suggests that dense urban areas and communities heavily involved in manufacturing are likely to experience the most AI-related disruption. From a methodological point of view, the report relies on an analysis of the overlap between AI-related patents and job descriptions, to establish job exposure levels.