Does AI replace jobs or tasks?
Should we ask which jobs AI will eliminate, or which tasks it will transform? Economic research clearly favours the second question.
The task approach
David Autor (2015, Journal of Economic Perspectives) recalls that automation substitutes some tasks and complements others; demand shifts to what remains hard to codify.
Measuring exposure
Tyna Eloundou, Sam Manning, Pamela Mishkin and Daniel Rock (2024, Science) estimate occupational exposure to large language models task by task. This is potential exposure, not an observed employment effect.
The nuance
Exposure means neither replacement nor help: the effect depends on work organisation and company choices. (our executive and employee training programmes)
The limit of common practice
Generic 'AI training' without analysing actual job tasks leaves everyone guessing where the tool applies.
A practical check in Zurich
List each employee's ten most frequent tasks and mark those where AI was tried. Repeat three months later to see what actually changed. To go further: explore the AI on the Job training in Zurich, or browse our executive and employee training programmes in Switzerland.
In pictures: AI on the Job in Zurich
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