Publication:
Buffer or Bottleneck? Employment Exposure to Generative AI and the Digital Divide in Latin America

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dc.contributor.authorGmyrek, Paweł
dc.contributor.authorWinkler, Hernán
dc.contributor.authorGarganta, Santiago
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-01T15:59:17Z
dc.date.available2024-08-01T15:59:17Z
dc.date.issued2024-08-01
dc.description.abstractEmpirical evidence on the potential impacts of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is mostly focused on high-income countries. In contrast, little is known about the role of this technology on the future economic pathways of developing economies. This paper contributes to fill this gap by estimating the exposure of the Latin American labor market to GenAI. It provides detailed statistics of GenAI exposure between and within countries by leveraging a rich set of harmonized household and labor force surveys. To account for the slower pace of technology adoption in developing economies, it adjusts the measures of exposure to GenAI by using the likelihood of accessing digital technologies at work. This is then used to assess the extent to which the digital divide across and within countries will be a barrier to maximize the productivity gains among occupations that could otherwise be augmented by GenAI tools. The findings show that certain characteristics are consistently correlated with higher exposure. Specifically, urban-based jobs that require higher education, are situated in the formal sector, and are held by individuals with higher incomes are more likely to come into interaction with this technology. Moreover, there is a pronounced tilt toward younger workers facing greater exposure, including the risk of job automation, particularly in the finance, insurance, and public administration sectors. When adjusting for access to digital technologies, the findings show that the digital divide is a major barrier to realizing the positive effects of GenAI on jobs in the region. In particular, nearly half of the positions that could potentially benefit from augmentation are hampered by lack of use of digital technologies. This negative effect of the digital divide is more pronounced in poorer countries.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099826507262419608/IDU197096bf316be814a251b452145b5f0fd5aca
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10863
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/41984
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWashington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper; 10863
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectINNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY PLANNING
dc.subjectMONITORING AND EVALUATION
dc.subjectDIGITAL ECONOMY STRATEGY
dc.subjectINCOME INEQUALITY
dc.subjectJOBS AND DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectINDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
dc.subjectSDG 9
dc.subjectDECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subjectSDG 8
dc.titleBuffer or Bottleneck? Employment Exposure to Generative AI and the Digital Divide in Latin Americaen
dc.typeWorking Paper
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.associatedcontenthttps://reproducibility.worldbank.org/index.php/catalog/168 Link to data and reproducibility package
okr.crossref.titleBuffer or Bottleneck? Employment Exposure to Generative AI and the Digital Divide in Latin America
okr.date.disclosure2024-08-01
okr.date.lastmodified2024-07-26T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypePolicy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099826507262419608/IDU197096bf316be814a251b452145b5f0fd5aca
okr.guid099826507262419608
okr.identifier.docmidIDU-97096bf3-6be8-4a25-b452-45b5f0fd5aca
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-10863
okr.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-10863
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum34371097
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum34371097
okr.identifier.reportWPS10863
okr.import.id4975
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099826507262419608/pdf/IDU197096bf316be814a251b452145b5f0fd5aca.pdfen
okr.region.geographicalLatin America
okr.sectorICT Infrastructure
okr.topicInformation and Communication Technologies::Digital Divide
okr.topicInformation and Communication Technologies::ICT Data and Statistics
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Labor Markets
okr.unitChief Economist (LCRCE)
okr.unitEFI-LCR-POV-Poverty and Equity (ELCPV)
relation.isAuthorOfPublication6b2974ae-b71a-507e-ad52-3881bd3a0605
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery6b2974ae-b71a-507e-ad52-3881bd3a0605
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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