Since the release of tools like ChatGPT, artificial intelligence (AI) has begun to permeate industries worldwide. Transforming the way we work and live.
To gain insight into this rapidly evolving landscape, here are the U.S. industries by their estimated share of potential for AI automation.
Potential for AI automation
This analysis comes from a March 2023 report published by Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research.
The authors estimated automation exposure for over 900 U.S. jobs using the O*NET occupational database. This provides details on the types of tasks each occupation conducts. Exposure estimates were then weighted by the employment share of each occupation, and aggregated to the industry level.
According to these findings, “office and administrative support” will likely be the most affected by AI-driven automation at 46%. This transformation could largely impact common tasks such as data entry, scheduling meetings, and document management.
Related: AI Experts Say Many Chores Will Be Automated by 2033
The second highest industry, “legal”, trails close behind at 44%. AI will probably automate legal processes like contract analysis, and could even anticipate court case outcomes.
As expected, industries that rely heavily on manual labor won’t be impacted as much.
Benchmarking the Automated Future
AI is still a very new and developing technology. How it will impact labor productivity in the future depends on its capability (how fast it improves) and adoption (how quickly people and businesses begin using it).
Adoption rates are unlikely to be the same around the world. As survey results have shown that some countries are more optimistic towards AI than others.
Under the most aggressive scenario, Goldman Sachs believes that AI automation could impact up to 300 million jobs globally. It could also potentially result in a 7% increase in annual GDP (equal to about $7 trillion).
Given AI’s massive potential for disruption, it’s more important than ever for investors to stay ahead. That’s why MSCI has created the MSCI ACWI IMI Robotics & AI Index, which benchmarks an investable universe of companies associated with the adoption of AI, robotics, and automation.
