Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming from a scientific concept into a real driving force for change in the economy and the labor market. Recent advances, particularly in generative AI (e.g., developments such as ChatGPT), have demonstrated the ability of algorithms to perform tasks that previously required purely human intelligence. This has sparked a global debate about how AI will affect employment: will it lead to mass unemployment through the automation of professions, or will it create new jobs and increase labor productivity?

Analysts predict that the impact of AI on the labor market by 2035 will be large-scale and heterogeneous. According to the IMF, nearly 40% of jobs worldwide are already potentially affected by AI, ranging from partial supplementation of human labor to complete replacement of certain functions. The MIM:AGENCY team conducted a global study to gain a deeper understanding of this complex issue.

Sectors at high risk of automation

The first to be affected by the wave of automation are professions where work is routine, standardized, and easily algorithmized. Modern AI systems are capable of performing increasingly complex typical tasks, which is why these roles are at the greatest risk of being replaced. Among them, several key categories can be identified:

Office routine and administrative work: Accounting, document processing, data entry, record keeping, and other paperwork are increasingly being automated. For example, AI-based programs can independently keep accounting books or prepare financial reports. Generative language models are capable of composing standard letters and responses to inquiries, which previously required the involvement of office workers.

Transportation and logistics: Autonomous vehicles and optimized logistics management algorithms threaten millions of jobs for drivers and freight forwarders. Self-driving car and truck technologies are developing rapidly, with large corporations testing driverless taxis and trucks. However, it is difficult to say whether AI will be able to completely replace humans in this area.

Manufacturing and industry: The robotization of factories has been going on for a long time, but AI is taking it to a new level. Physical operations in a predictable environment are ideal for automation. Conveyor lines, where there are many repetitive movements, can be completely handed over to robots. AI computer vision systems are capable of performing quality control faster and more accurately than humans. As a result, low-skilled manufacturing jobs – such as parts assemblers, machine operators, and packers – are at risk of being replaced. On average, jobs at high risk of automation account for about 27% of all jobs in OECD countries, with the highest proportion in the industrialized economies of Eastern Europe.

Retail and services: Sectors where many people work in routine customer service roles are also undergoing rapid automation. Self-service checkouts (without cashiers) are appearing in stores, and fast food restaurants are replacing counter staff with ordering kiosks. Call centers are switching to voice assistants: modern AI can answer standard customer questions by phone or online, imitating human conversation. Therefore, cashiers, sales assistants, and call center operators are also at risk.

It should be noted that a high risk of automation does not always mean the complete disappearance of a profession.

Often, there is a redistribution of tasks: machines take over the routine part of the work, while humans perform supervisory, decision-making, or non-standard operations.

Sectors with growing demand for human capital

Alongside the automation of routine processes, there are industries where the role of humans will remain crucial or even increase, thanks to the development of AI. These areas require skills that machines cannot fully replace, primarily emotional intelligence, creativity, complex manual work, or strategic thinking. Demand for workers is expected to grow in the following sectors:

Healthcare and nursing: Societies around the world are facing an aging population and increasing demand for medical and social services. Care-related professions are difficult to automate because they require empathy, compassion, and flexible responses to unique situations. For example, a nurse or caregiver not only performs medical procedures but also provides psychological support to the patient – no robot is yet capable of fully replacing this human presence.

Education and training: Despite the penetration of technology into the educational process (online courses, adaptive educational platforms, automatic test checking), the profession of teacher and lecturer will retain its importance. Education is not only the transfer of knowledge, but also upbringing, motivation, and socialization, which AI lacks. Artificial intelligence can become a tool for teachers (for example, helping to create individual learning plans or track student progress), but live communication between teachers and students is indispensable for harmonious development.

Creative economy and culture: Areas related to creativity and the creation of new content are traditionally considered more protected from automation. Although modern AI models can generate text, music, or images, they do so based on the analysis of existing data and lack true originality and understanding of context. Therefore, professions that require inventing something fundamentally new or deeply understanding human needs and preferences will remain relevant. These include, for example, designers, artists, writers, directors, marketers, and research scientists. People value a creative approach and unique style that cannot be generated by a template algorithm.

IT and technology development: Paradoxically, the more tasks AI automates, the more specialists are needed to create, maintain, and improve this AI. There is already a shortage of IT professionals around the world, and this shortage is likely to worsen. New specializations are also emerging, such as prompt engineers, AI ethics specialists, smart product designers, and more. The need for digital transformation is growing in all sectors of the economy, so even traditional companies (in manufacturing, agriculture, construction, and energy) will hire IT experts to implement new solutions.

European Union: automation under regulatory control

The EU labor market faces similar challenges of automation, but the European approach to the problem is somewhat different from the American one. European countries generally pay more attention to social protection and the regulation of technological change. The EU has long had strong social partnership institutions in place – trade unions, collective agreements, government support programs – which will be used to manage the transition to the AI era.

In terms of automation potential, the structure of employment varies across EU countries. For example, according to the OECD, on average, 27% of jobs in OECD countries are at high risk of automation (i.e., a significant proportion of their tasks can be performed by AI). In Europe, the highest rates are found in the eastern EU member states and some southern countries, where the economy is still more labor-intensive, with many jobs in agriculture, light industry, and administrative services that are still done manually or with minimal automation. For example, Slovakia and Romania have large car assembly plants and outsourced data processing centers – these jobs are potentially automatable and may be reduced if global corporations implement AI (or move operations closer to home, replacing cheap labor with robots).

Another European approach is to regulate the development of AI. The European Union is preparing an Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), which will introduce standards and restrictions on the use of AI, particularly in sensitive areas such as employment decision-making, lending, and mass surveillance. One of the indirect goals of this act is to prevent the unjustified displacement of people from their jobs: the regulator will be able to require that “human control” be maintained in systems so that AI does not make unilateral decisions about dismissal or hiring, for example. Rules on algorithm transparency are also being considered, so that employees can understand how AI affects their work and challenge decisions if they are discriminatory.

Ukraine: prospects and risks in the context of global trends

For Ukraine, as a country with a developing economy, the impact of the global wave of automation has its own peculiarities. On the one hand, the Ukrainian labor market is integrated into the worldwide market (through international companies, IT outsourcing, and labor migration) and will therefore experience the same trends: the gradual disappearance of routine jobs and growing demand for highly skilled specialists. On the other hand, the structure of the economy and the current level of technological development mean that the pace of AI implementation may be slower and its impact somewhat delayed compared to the US or Western Europe.

Ukraine still has a significant share of employment in traditional sectors: agriculture, metallurgy, mining, light industry, retail trade, and the public sector. Many of these jobs around the world are highly automated.

On the other hand, the Ukrainian economy also has a new dynamic sector – IT and digital services. Therefore, for some Ukrainians, AI is a source of opportunity: new high-paying jobs are appearing, contracts from abroad are coming in, and there is the possibility of creating their own startups in this field. Ukrainian AI specialists (although there are not many of them yet) are already participating in international research.

Historical overview

The historical experience of past technological revolutions gives grounds for cautious optimism. According to economists’ estimates, in the long term, technology creates more jobs than it destroys. For example, research by D. Otor et al. indicates that 60% of workers in the US are employed in positions that did not exist in 1940 – that is, with the advent of new technologies, completely new types of employment have emerged (software developers, analysts, digital marketing specialists, etc.), which have compensated for the decline of old professions. According to McKinsey estimates, historically, 8-9% of total labor demand every 10 years has been accounted for by professions that did not previously exist. There is no reason to believe that with the advent of AI, this dynamic will completely disappear – on the contrary, new areas are already forming at the intersection of technology and various industries.

The main question that concerns society is: will people be left without work because of AI? There is no clear answer – it all depends on the balance between the jobs that technology destroys and those it creates. Throughout history, new technologies have usually ended up increasing employment, but it took a long time for the labor market to find a new equilibrium.

The main conclusion is that AI does not so much replace humans as change their role. Routine operations and simple decisions will increasingly be performed by algorithms, but there will be a growing need for people who provide creativity, critical analysis, ethical oversight, and interpersonal interaction. Work is transforming from performing predictable tasks to solving non-standard problems in collaboration with machines. If society is ready for this, it will be possible to achieve a huge increase in productivity and quality of life.

Sources:

  1. Kristalina Georgieva (2024). AI Will Transform the Global Economy. Let’s Make Sure It Benefits Humanity. IMF Blog, January 14, 2024
  2. McKinsey Global Institute (2017). Jobs lost, jobs gained: What the future of work will mean for jobs, skills, and wages. (Report)
  3. World Economic Forum (2025). The Future of Jobs Report 2025. Insight article by Till Leopold, January 8, 2025
  4. Reuters (Leigh Thomas) (July 11, 2023). 27% of jobs at high risk from AI revolution, says OECD.
  5. VoxUkraine (Mariia Balytska) (March 20, 2025). Will AI Take Over Your Job? (Analysis of AI impact on Ukraine’s economy)