• by Chuck Martin , December 19, 2017

Artificial intelligence will create more than 2 million jobs in 2020, according to a new report by Gartner.

It also will eliminate nearly 2 million other jobs, which will vary by industry. Through 2019, education, healthcare and the public sector will see a growing demand for jobs while manufacturing will decline.

"Many significant innovations in the past have been associated with a transition period of temporary job loss, followed by recovery, then business transformation and AI will likely follow this route," stated Svetlana Sicular, research vice president at Gartner.

"Unfortunately, most calamitous warnings of job losses confuse AI with automation — that overshadows the greatest AI benefit – AI augmentation -- a combination of human and artificial intelligence, where both complement each other," stated Sicular.

Gartner projects that AI will improve the productivity of many jobs, eliminating millions of middle- and low-level positions, while creating millions more new positions of highly skilled, management and even entry-level and low-skilled jobs.

Different industries can be affected differently.

For example, Gartner predicts that through 2022 multichannel retailer moves to replace salespeople through AI will not succeed, eve though cashier and operational jobs will be disrupted.

"Retailers will be able to make labor savings by eliminating highly repetitive and transactional jobs, but will need to reinvest some of those savings into training associates who can enhance the customer experience," stated Robert Hetu, research director at Gartner. "Most retailers will come to view AI as a way to augment customer experiences rather than just removing humans from every process.”