AI does not destroy jobs, it creates new ones

Only around 3% of jobs in Latin America could be at risk of being automated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). In addition, around 14% of jobs will see increased demand due to AI, according to Almudena Fernández, chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

“This means that there will be tasks within these jobs that AI will help to perform more efficiently and thus with greater productivity,” she explained during the launch of the 2025 Human Development Report – “A call to decide: people and possibilities in the age of artificial intelligence.”

Fernández said that, on the other hand, the impact of AI on most jobs in the region is unknown because “they are such informal jobs, the companies are so small, many are sole proprietorships, where the investment required to implement AI on a large scale would be so great that it is very difficult to know what the impact would be.”

He pointed out that AI creates opportunities, and rather than fearing automation, the important thing is to ask ourselves how we can use artificial intelligence to move towards the more productive labor market that the region needs to continue reducing poverty, reducing inequality, and advancing human development.

He indicated that AI has increased the demand for professionals in other specialties, such as radiologists and others in the health and technology sectors. Meanwhile, Michelle Bouchet, UNDP Regional Director for Latin America, stated that AI can improve development. However, this also requires significant coordination between different social actors within a country.