President Macky Sall's candidacy for the office of UN Secretary-General places the future of work among its priorities. Artificial intelligence changes the content of jobs faster than institutions adapt to it, and the countries with the youngest populations will feel the effects first.
Transforming more than replacing. The International Labour Organization estimated, in a 2023 study, that generative artificial intelligence will transform more jobs than it eliminates, and that clerical work is the most exposed, more so still for women. The difficulty lies in the speed at which the technology reshuffles the tasks of a trade, rather than in the machine itself.
Young countries on the front line. Where millions of young people reach the labour market each year, the office jobs that growth had promised recede before they appear. The countries that produce the least technology nonetheless absorb its effects on employment. A generation is preparing for trades that shift before its eyes.
Governing the transition. Continuing training, social protection and the voice of workers in the firm decide whether a wave of technology raises work or lowers it. These tools exist, and it is their absence that leaves workers without recourse before a change they did not choose.
What the Secretariat can carry. The Secretary-General does not create jobs. He can support the International Labour Organization in its standards and place decent work on the agenda of development, recalling that a technology which increases wealth must also benefit those whose trade it transforms.
Experience in multilateral negotiation. Twelve years as head of state and the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 underpin these commitments. That experience explains why the vision statement filed with the United Nations frames its proposals as obligations: peace, security and development conceived together; a renewed multilateralism; stronger governance of the Organization.
Africa at its heart, the world in its sights.
The International Labour Organization's 2023 study on generative artificial intelligence and employment is public. Read all public positions at www.mackysall.net