According to the report 'AI on the Polish labour market’ by the Polish Economic Institute, the jobs mostly at risk are specialist positions.

In particular, these include jobs that require higher qualifications, such as finance professionals, lawyers, and programmers. The group also includes mathematicians, some civil servants, secretaries, as well as academic teachers and parts of the managerial staff in companies.

For comparison, the number of workers in the 20 least-exposed occupations is about 1.66 million, the report says.

'Poles are divided in their views on the effects of AI on the labour market: 25.8% believe that AI will positively impact job numbers, while 33.4% think it will have a negative effect', the authors of the report say.

'Artificial intelligence has the potential to significantly transform the Polish labour market - by simplifying or eliminating certain tasks, increasing the productivity of some employees, and putting pressure on the need for new skills. We must consider these processes in a broader context, such as demographic trends. By 2035, the workforce will decrease by as much as 12.5% compared to today. Implementing automation tools can be an essential component of efforts to increase productivity and maintain the current potential of the Polish economy', says Ignacy Święcicki, head of the digital economy team at the Polish Economic Institute. '

According to the report, women in Poland are more susceptible to disruptions caused by AI in the labour market than men. Among the 121 analysed occupational groups, 28% of all working women in Poland are employed in the 20 occupational groups most vulnerable to changes from AI, compared to 17% of men.

'Despite the overall higher number of men employed, women lead numerically in the 20 jobs most exposed to AI, with 2.16 million compared to 1.53 million. This is likely because women are less involved in manual labour and are often better educated than men, working in roles that are more susceptible to AI usage', the authors of the report say.

The analysis of AI exposure indicators across various economic sectors shows significant differences in the adaptation and utilization of these technologies.

The results are 'consistent with findings from occupational analyses. The agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing sectors exhibit the lowest AI exposure, suggesting they are least affected by these technologies. Similarly, low exposure levels can be seen in the food and accommodation services and construction sectors', the experts point out.

In contrast, the financial and insurance sectors exhibit the highest AI exposure, indicating the potential for intensive use of these technologies in process automation, data analysis, and information management. High exposure is also observed in professional, technical, and education sectors. IT ranks only fourth overall among the exposed sectors

'At this stage of implementing AI solutions in the economy, it remains unclear whether AI will complement employee skills or primarily lead to task automation and reduced employment in certain jobs. Barriers to broader AI implementation include relatively low labour costs in Poland compared to European standards, which do not incentivise management to pursue automation', says Jakub Witczak, an analyst from the Institute's digital economy team. He adds that the need for advanced AI to process sensitive data on external servers raises concerns about potential leaks and may conflict with corporate compliance policies. (PAP)

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