The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the job market is not yet very digitally certain, but it is precisely for this reason that many studies attempt to determine how these technologies affect employment. In this research, a study by the Valencian University Institute for Research in Artificial Intelligence (VRAIN) of the Polytechnic University of Valencia reveals that around two out of ten jobs in Spain (between 18% and 22% of employment) are already exposed to artificial intelligence. In addition, this impact is “structural” in nature since it remains stable over the years analyzed (2021 and 2022).
The study considers this exposure as the extent to which jobs in a region, sector or social group can be affected by the use of artificial intelligence. And, in this sense, this does not necessarily imply that the use of these technologies involves the substitution or loss of jobs, but rather the way in which AI can transform or modify the tasks, processes, productivity or training required by the workers concerned.
The survey found that the scale of the impact, which is generally between 18% and 22% of jobs, varies depending on the sectors analyzed. But the work places particular emphasis on variations by territory and by sex, which operate according to the pre-eminence of one type or another of activities in each territory.
Thus, the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona occupy the highest position in terms of the incidence of AI at work, with values above 21.5%. While on the opposite side are Soria, Zamora, Teruel, Cuenca or Palencia, with values close to 17.5% or 18.5%. This lower impact is due to the fact that these are areas of the interior of the peninsula in whose regional economies there is a greater presence of agriculture, traditional manufacturing and construction, areas that are currently less transformed by AI.
Another conclusion of the study from a geographical point of view is that jobs in the Central-Mediterranean corridor (which includes Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Alicante and Málaga), as well as Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, are more exposed to artificial intelligence. This is explained by the weight of commerce, advanced services, education, health and information-related activities in these provinces. While on the contrary, communities like Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha and Aragon show exposure lower than the national average.
Regarding gender inequalities, the analysis shows that women’s employment is more exposed to AI than men’s employment. This gap varies between 1.3 and 3 percentage points, although it can exceed this margin in territories where the economy is strongly tertiary (i.e. where the services sector is predominant).
The authors of the work find a double reason which leads women to be more affected in their work by AI. On the one hand, female employment is concentrated more intensely in sectors with high use of AI (education, health, administrative services, commerce or social activities). And on the other hand, they are under-represented in sectors with little exposure such as construction, transport or extractive industries.
This x-ray of the impact of AI was prepared by UPV researchers Antoni Mestre, Xavier Naya, Manoli Albert and Vicente Pelechano, and has just been presented to different socio-professional institutions, including the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant.
“At a time when Spain is deploying national digitalization and artificial intelligence strategies, such as the National AI Strategy (ENIA), or the LOSS of the new linguistic economy or digitalization plans, having this analysis is necessary to ensure a fair transition,” explains Mestre, one of the authors of this research. In this sense, he explains that, although AI has the potential to increase productivity, improve public services and generate skilled employment opportunities, it can also intensify inequalities if its negative effects are not anticipated comprehensively.
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