The impact of artificial intelligence on unemployment: a review

Abstract

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to summarise the state-of-the-art debate on impact of artificial intelligence on unemployment and reporting up-to-date academic findings.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is designed as a review of the labour vs capital conundrum, the differences between industrial automation and artificial intelligence, threat to employment, the difficulty of substituting, role of soft skills and whether technology leads to the deskilling of human workers or favors increasing human capabilities.FindingsSome authors praise the bright future developments of artificial intelligence while others warn about mass unemployment. Therefore, it is paramount to present an up-to-date overview of the problem, compare and contrast its features with what happened in past innovation waves and contribute to academic discussion about the pros/cons of current trends.Originality/valueThe main value of this paper is presenting a balanced view of 100+ different studies, the vast majority from the last five years. Reading this paper will allow to quickly grasp the main issues around the thorny topic of artificial intelligence and unemployment.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-05-2023-0338