GenAI’s unexpected impact: Disrupting high-skilled tech jobs, too

A new Brookings Institution report on generative AI (genAI) found that the more highly skilled a tech worker is, the more vulnerable they are to having their jobs supplemented by the technology.

That differs dramatically from past automation technologies that primarily displaced low-skilled or physical laborers, according to Brookings, a Washington-based nonprofit public policy research firm.

While IT workers can be found in virtually any organization today, genAI will have its greatest impact on jobs in high-tech geographical regions such as Silicon Valley, Seattle, WA., and Cambridge, MA., where highly skilled workers are concentrated. The report asserts that genAI tools will target cognitive tasks — such as writing, coding, and data analysis — impacting professionals in fields like software development, legal analysis, and finance.

The report challenges earlier analyses that predicted genAI would mainly automate routine, repetitive tasks, and it highlights the growing risk to white-collar jobs and highly educated workers. But Brookings researchers said the technology is unlikely to eliminate jobs entirely. Instead, it will create a scenario where professionals must work alongside AI, using it as an augmentation tool rather than as a full replacement.

GenAI has already proven itself to be an effective coder, assisting developers in creating new applications. That, coupled with the fact that the demand for skilled software developers is rising, will drive genAI adoption.

Research firm IDC has forecast a shortage of four million developers this year, and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects nearly 200,000 developer jobs to open annually through 2030. By 2027, genAI tools that can assist in the creation, testing and operation of software are expected to be adopted by half of all enterprise software engineers, according to a study by Gartner Research.

Online coding platform Replit, for example, recently partnered with AI research company Anthropic and Google to help non-technical Zillow employees contribute to software development. The new applications are now being used to route more than 100,000 home shoppers to agents.

“The Brookings report presents a compelling case that AI will have a unique impact on knowledge workers and high-tech regions,” said Peter Miscovich, Global Future of Work Leader at JLL Consulting. “While this is a crucial shift from past waves of automation, it does not mean that AI will spare lower-level jobs entirely. Instead, AI’s influence will be widespread, reshaping industries at multiple levels.”

Miscovich referred to the Brookings report as “a bit nuanced” in that it also indicates lower-skilled technology, operations, and customer service workers will also be affected by the fast-evolving technology.

While manual workers are less affected, as robots haven’t fully replaced most of those jobs, AI-enabled robots are on the rise, according to Miscovich, “and our sense is that manual job disruption will come about at some future point in time.”

Will AI really spare lower-level jobs?

Nearly four in 10 Americans believe genAI could diminish the number of available jobs, according to a study conducted by Deloitte and released in October by the New York Federal Reserve Bank. And the World Economic Forum’s Jobs Initiative study found that close to half (44%) of worker skills will be disrupted in the next five years — and 40% of tasks will be affected by the use of genAI tools and the large language models (LLMs) that underpin them.

The Deloitte results highlight younger workers’ growing anxiety around AI replacing jobs — and the actions they’re taking to improve their own job security. Deloitte’s survey of 1,874 full- and part-time workers from the US, Canada, India, and Australia — roughly two-thirds of whom are early career workers — found that 34% are pursuing a professional qualification or certification courses, 32% are starting their own businesses or becoming self-employed, and 28% are even adding part-time contractor or gig work to supplement their income.

Despite the Brookings report’s assertion that AI will primarily affect high-skilled jobs, there is evidence to suggest it will continue to replace low-wage, repetitive jobs as well, according to Miscovich, including:

Customer service and call centers: AI chatbots and virtual assistants are already replacing entry-level call center jobs. Large corporations are integrating AI-driven customer service platforms, reducing the need for human representatives.

Administrative and clerical Roles: Generative AI tools can automate document processing, email responses, scheduling, and data entry, roles traditionally performed by administrative staff.

Retail and fast-food automation: AI-powered self-checkouts, robotic food preparation, and inventory management systems continue to reduce the need for human workers in retail and food service.

“Thus, while Brookings suggests that AI will hit high-tech jobs the hardest, it is probably more accurate to say that AI will affect a broad range of jobs across skill levels,” Miscovich said.

Key trends to watch, according to Miscovich, include:

New roles and AI-augmented work: Many professionals will need to shift from purely technical jobs to roles that require human-AI collaboration. For example, software engineers might shift toward AI model training and oversight rather than coding from scratch.

Upskilling and reskilling initiatives: Governments and corporations will need to invest in workforce retraining programs to help displaced workers transition into roles that require human judgment, creativity, and oversight of AI systems.

Hybrid workforce models: Companies will integrate AI into workflows but still require human employees to handle complex problem-solving, ethical considerations, and customer interactions that AI cannot fully replicate.

Rather than viewing AI as a job destroyer, it is better to consider it as a force for transformation, Miscovich said. “Workers across industries will need to adapt, reskill, and learn to collaborate with AI rather than compete against it,” he said. “The key challenge for policymakers and businesses will be ensuring that AI-driven economic shifts do not exacerbate existing inequalities but instead create new opportunities across all regions and professions.”

Sarah Hoffman, director of AI research at AlphaSense and formerly vice president of AI and Machine Learning Research at Fidelity Investments, said genAI will change the future of work and how companies deploy the fast-moving technology over the next few years.

The arrival of genAI tools in business will allow workers to move toward more creative endeavors — as long as they learn how to use the new tools and even collaborate with them. What will emerge is a “symbiotic” relationship with an increasingly “proactive” technology that will require employees to constantly learn new skills and adapt, she said in an earlier interview with Computerworld.

“As AI automates more processes, the role of workers will shift,” Hoffman said. “Jobs focused on repetitive tasks may decline, but new roles will emerge, requiring employees to focus on overseeing AI systems, handling exceptions, and performing creative or strategic functions that AI cannot easily replicate.

Gartner analyst: Brookings is wrong

Gartner analyst Nate Suda outright disagreed with the Brookings report findings.

“Generative AI will automate some tasks, for sure — possibly even roles, in time,” Suda said. “However, the Brookings report’s conflation of genAI with automation is a fallacy. In many cases, [the] productivity impact of genAI is a second-order effect. GenAI creates a special relationship with the worker, changes the worker, and that change impacts productivity.”

Gartner found that low-experience workers in low-complexity roles, such as call centers, saw a productivity boost — not from AI’s automation capabilities, but from its ability to help them learn their job more effectively. That, in turn, led to higher productivity from workers using genAI, a phenomenon known as “experience compression,” or the ability for the technology to accelerate learning.

GenAI, Suda argued, boosts productivity for highly experienced workers in complex roles, like corporate finance or software engineering, by acting as a thought partner. That effect, he said, is known as “skill magnification,” where the technology amplifies employee capabilities, creativity, and productivity, leading to greater impact.

As time spent on tasks increases, so does the quality and quantity of output, making productivity rise disproportionately, according to Suda. “GenAI’s true strength lies in inspiring creativity and teaching, not just automating tasks,” he said.