EDITORIAL: In recent years, the debate over the future of jobs — particularly since ChatGpt was launched in 2022 — has fixated on generative artificial intelligence (AI) and how it poses both threats and opportunities for white-collar jobs.
The World Economic Forum’s “Jobs of Tomorrow” report, released on October 15, however, notes that the transformation that is under way in global job markets extends well beyond office-based work, and crucially, is being propelled by a wider suite of technologies, not AI alone.
Four rapidly advancing technologies — AI, robotics, advanced energy systems and sensor networks — are poised to redefine employment across seven key sectors that employ 80 percent of the world’s labour market: agriculture, manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade, transport and logistics, business and management, and healthcare.
It has long been clear that technological innovation will be the most powerful force reshaping job markets in the years ahead, generating better paid, higher quality work and driving a surge in global productivity.
Without thoughtful governance, however, these same forces risk deepening inequalities between and within nations. The challenge for policymakers, then, is to embrace technological change in a way that ensures its benefits are shared broadly, and that the new economy it builds is one of inclusion rather than disparities.
The report notes how AI has become truly ubiquitous since the rapid rise of consumer-focused generative models, with 86 percent of employers expecting it to transform their organisations by 2030.
Robotics, meanwhile, has also been expanding steadily, growing by 5-7 percent annually since 2020 and cutting business costs by up to 40 percent, with most progress concentrated in advanced economies like the US, China and South Korea.
Energy technologies are similarly reshaping industries, driven by soaring demand for electric vehicles and data centres, with 41 percent of employers anticipating major shifts in their operations.
Likewise, sensor networks, which merge communication and sensing systems are deepening technological interdependence though uneven access remains a stumbling block.
Europe, for instance, enjoys widespread internet connectivity, while much of Africa still lags behind. While these technologies hold immense promise for boosting productivity and efficiency, they also pose serious risks related to privacy breaches, system failures and distorted economic value structures, which make it imperative for regulators to establish firm safeguards, rather than allowing these powerful forces to advance entirely unchecked.
Realising the promise of these technologies and mitigating their risks will require concerted effort: mobilising investments, accelerating technology transfers, and ensuring inclusive access.
Equally crucial will be reimagining education systems so that knowledge and expertise in these emerging fields are broadly shared rather than concentrated among a privileged few, especially in lower-income countries like Pakistan.
The agriculture sector offers a clear example. As the report notes, the global agricultural workforce stands to be fundamentally reshaped by emerging technologies. For Pakistan, where agriculture remains the economic mainstay, this presents enormous potential for productivity gains and sustainable growth.
But unlocking it will demand a complete overhaul of science and technology education, alongside greater investments in research, innovation and digital infrastructure.
Pakistan has little time to lose in embracing these technological innovations if it hopes to stay competitive in the global economy, not just in agriculture, but across manufacturing, trade and other key sectors.
While agricultural drones ferry banana harvests in South America and AI-driven quality control redefines manufacturing in China and Taiwan, such innovations remain a distant prospect at home.
The challenge for all nations, then, is to become active shapers of technology rather than just being passive observers by expanding investment capacities, strengthening knowledge bases and fostering coordinated action among governments, employers and technology developers. Innovation advances, in sum, must not widen the existing divides.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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