Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to deeply impact employment worldwide, according to Denis Machuel, CEO of Adecco. This transformative force is predicted to disrupt various professions, potentially resulting in both job creation and job displacement. The profound effects of AI, particularly generative AI like ChatGPT, could be the most substantial disruption witnessed in decades.

However, while AI raises serious concerns for jobs, it will also create new positions, Machuel told Agence France-Presse. "It's probably the largest disruption and revolution that we've seen in decades. It's going to be massive. And let's be clear, no one really knows or can really anticipate with a precise view what's going to happen in the next five years.

"All this productivity enhancement helps people do more but also destroys some of the jobs people are doing. There is definitely an element of jobs being created and jobs that are being destroyed. We've seen that with the internet, with digitalization”.

 "What we've seen in the past tells us that there is more or less a balance between the two.

 "Technology brings a lot of better understanding of interaction between people and markets but it also brings complexity. And that complexity requires more people to deal with it”.

 "GenAI will bring productivity on one side but it will also bring more proof-points, more data, more ways of looking at relationships, products and services. And for all these, we need people."

 Machuel also provided some insights on Adecco’s recently announced partnership with Microsoft.

"We've signed a partnership with Microsoft to create a career platform that will advise companies and workers on their path, supporting their reflection on the type of skills and jobs they could go for.

Opening horizons on things people didn't necessarily imagine but could be achievable for them. There are quite a few workers whose skills are transferable”.

"The good news about GenAI is that there is a positive explosion of possibilities of upskilling and re-skilling through these tools. We've created a curriculum vitae maker with an AI-powered tool that helps people generate their own CV”.

"On the daily tasks of our recruiters, I was mentioning this chatbot that interacts with thousands of candidates very quickly. It gives the possibility for our recruiters to spend more time in the human relationship, and not in a database search. That means a recruiter can spend more time with people than doing the mundane tasks."