The Human Development Report The annual report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) focuses this year on artificial intelligence and its potential to help transform economies and societies. It also assesses what decisions and measures can be taken to help all countries have the opportunity to thrive in an AI-enabled world.
Regarding the Human Development Index (HDI) itself, the context of general stagnation since the Covid-19 pandemic stands out, although Spain has improved its score during this period, going from an HDI of 0.901 in 2020 to 0.918. In addition, it is one of the countries with the highest penetration of AI skills, ranking 12th worldwide, and is ahead of other countries in the region such as France in terms of attracting AI talent.
The report presents the results of one of the largest public opinion surveys on AI conducted globally in the last three years: more than 21.000 people from 21 countries and 36 languages were surveyed. Some relevant data are detailed below:
- Approximately two-thirds of those surveyed expect to use artificial intelligence in education, healthcare, and work within the next year.
- More than half of the people surveyed are hopeful that AI will serve to improve lives.
- Men use AI more than women. People with higher levels of education use it more than those with lower levels of education. Age also plays a role: older people feel that AI could diminish their sense of autonomy.
In terms of employment, the advancement of AI is generating fears of massive job losses, according to the report. However, the scenario is optimistic, according to the survey data:
- Half of people surveyed globally believe that their jobs could be automated.
- Six in ten expect AI to have a positive impact on work, creating new jobs and opportunities.
- 13% believe that AI could lead to job losses; and only one in eight people believe that AI could take their job away.
- The use of generative AI in work is increasing faster than the use of computers or the Internet.
Positive aspects of using AI
While there will undoubtedly be changes in labor demand, the report states that delegating tasks to machines can free up people so that they can devote more time to other aspects of life, such as creative work, patient care, education or learning and developing new skills; tasks in which machines are deficient and the human component is in itself valuable.
In addition, AI can improve industrial capacity and lead to greater diversification of value chains, as well as better markets for self-employed workers. It can lead to new knowledge and skills that benefit everyone, from farmers to small entrepreneurs. And they will create new roles for humans in the future.eres that we cannot yet imagine.
Human-centered AI
Within the framework of European Regulation on Artificial Intelligence and the lines of work of the Spanish Agency for the Supervision of Artificial Intelligence (AESIA), the approach advocated by the report deserves special mention: a human-centered AI. To do so, it identifies three areas of action:
- Building a “complementary” economy where people collaborate with AI rather than compete with it. Improving human intelligence, empowering workers, and strategically deploying AI are key.
- Drive innovation with purpose, integrating human action throughout the AI lifecycle, from design to implementation.
- Invest in relevant capabilities so that people can make the most of AI in their lives while addressing risks and concerns related to bias, privacy, affordability, and equity.
Taken together, these three areas invite policymakers to make decisions, to decide how to use AI to create opportunities that allow us to address climate change, conflicts, mass migration and the rapid rise in inequalities.
Finally, the report also invites reflection by stating that risks are only part of the issue; artificial intelligence offers many more possibilities for the common good and taking advantage of them to meet people's expectations of a better life depends on something more than algorithms: it is a matter of decisions.
