Over 800,000 Quebec jobs at risk due to Artificial intelligence: study
Posted January 15, 2025 12:10 pm.
Nearly one in five Quebecers have their jobs at risk due to artificial intelligence (AI), the Institut du Québec (IDQ) in collaboration with the in collaboration with the Future Skills Centre estimated in a study published on Wednesday.
“Approximately 810,000 Quebecers, or 18 per cent of the workforce, work or are looking for work in the 96 occupations identified as vulnerable to automation,” says Emna Braham, President and CEO of the IDQ.
“These are mainly jobs in the sales and service sector such as cashiers,” she added. “But also in the business, finance and administration sector such as administrative assistants or auditors.”
The IDQ said in a news release that by applying an “internationally proven methodology” to the Quebec context for the first time, they were able to identify which workers are most vulnerable to automation and the deployment AI.
Adding that “that is, those whose jobs are not only at high risk of being automated – by robots or AI – but who will have difficulty finding a new career.”
“Among adults aged 25 and over, workers without a diploma are most at risk: 27 per cent of them work or are looking for work in a vulnerable occupation,” explained Anthony Migneault, Senior Economist at the IDQ.
Unlike the general public, which has adopted certain AI applications quickly, like ChatGPT, the IDQ explained that Quebec organizations may take longer to integrate AI to transform their processes.
The IDQ stated in the news release that vulnerable professions are completely absent from education, social and community services or arts and culture.
Adding that these professions often require skills, such as social intelligence, creativity and empathy — which they said are still impossible to fully automate.
“Fears of technological disruption, such as the adoption of AI, are understandable,” said Braham. “Historically, technological waves have given rise to this collective apprehension of being eventually replaced by a machine.”
“However, the beneficial transformations – profound and lasting – that these technologies bring about, such as the emergence of new skills, the creation of innovative business models and their impact on productivity, are often underestimated.”
The report is available here.
