Kristalina Georgieva says artificial intelligence could affect about 40% of jobs worldwide, with developing countries facing particular exposure. The IMF chief is urging governments to rethink education for a labour market where some jobs may change and others disappear.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
AzerNews reports that Georgieva made the remarks at the IMF and World Bank’s annual meetings in Bangkok on 12 October. It says she put the share of jobs in developing countries expected to be affected at about 23%, and warned that labour-market changes could also affect government tax revenues.
The account describes jobs as “affected”, not necessarily eliminated. Georgieva’s reported point is that AI may complement workers in some roles while making others obsolete. She called on governments to reassess education systems and prepare workers for those changes.
Why it matters
The headline figure is a warning about the scale of possible disruption, not a forecast that four jobs in every ten will vanish. Whether work is reshaped, replaced or made more productive matters enormously to workers and to governments planning education and public finances.
The reported call to rethink education is broad; the account does not specify which training, policies or timelines would best prepare people. That is where the useful debate begins, rather than treating a percentage as a jobs-loss countdown.
Our read
The important distinction is between AI affecting work and AI simply removing it. That distinction is easy to blur, especially when a large number is involved. Governments need to plan for both displacement and changing tasks, while being clearer about what evidence supports the forecasts and what practical support workers will receive.
What to watch
- Whether the IMF publishes more detail on how it defines jobs “affected” by AI.
- What education and workforce measures governments propose in response.
- Whether future analysis separates jobs changed from jobs eliminated.
Discussion spark: Should governments prioritise retraining people for roles AI may change, or focus first on protecting workers whose jobs are most likely to disappear?
Sources and evidence
- Source update (12 October 2026, 06:49 UTC)
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