The rapid pace of digital transformation is poised to accelerate the creation of new tech jobs, potentially surpassing the growth seen in the past eight decades, the chief executive of global tech consultancy Publicis Sapient has said.
The skills required to handle the latest technologies – notably artificial intelligence, its generative AI iteration and the cloud – are causing a shift in labour requirements that needs to be addressed by creating new roles and filling them, Nigel Vaz told The National in an interview.
“We're moving from a world where we have a vast amount of learning, unlearning and relearning to drive, because essentially that conundrum of how you unlearn and relearn is going to be extraordinarily important to that skill transition,” he said on the sidelines of the Fortune Global Summit in Abu Dhabi.
A 2022 study led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist David Autor suggested that roughly 60 per cent of employment in 2018 is in jobs that did not exist in 1940.
That, according to Goldman Sachs economists, implies that more than 85 per cent of employment growth over the past 80 years is “explained by the technology-driven creation of new positions”.
Matching the 85 per cent growth in new jobs witnessed over the past eight decades “is going to happen a lot sooner given how much transformation we’re seeing today”, Mr Vaz said.
“There will also be a significant investment in the migration of skills and capability from the kind of work you do today to then.”
Consequently, this will also spur global economic growth, said Mr Vaz, who did not give a range for his expectations of economic expansion.
However, “the big thing about projections is irrespective of [how much] you think they are”, the role of new jobs in boosting the global economy is “very clear”.
“There's a lot of fundamental transformation … from a digital perspective that is underpinning [digital transformation's] contribution to the global economy,” he said.
AI would be “perfect” for any type of task, Mr Vaz said. In sustainability, one of the biggest challenges is solving big complex problems like modelling out scenarios in, for example, farming, to help those in the industry predict how things might play out.
The UAE – which Mr Vaz considers one of the global leaders in digital transformation – is now home to Jais Climate, the world’s first bilingual large language model dedicated to climate intelligence, which was unveiled last week.
With AI, “you are now basically able to analyse climate patterns, crops and planting techniques . it's going to have an extraordinarily meaningful role”, he said.
Enterprises and governments have lauded digital transformation's critical role in the economy and society as the world prepares for a future largely powered by technology.
For instance, generative AI – the sensational technology kick-started by OpenAI's ChatGPT – can help GCC countries reap about $23.5 billion in economic benefits by 2030 as investments in generative AI continue to grow, PwC unit Strategy & Middle East said in a recent report.
Goldman Sachs has also said in a previous study that the growing adoption of AI can help boost global economic growth and raise labour productivity.
AI can also help “create better wages and interesting jobs”, Microsoft chairman and chief executive Satya Nadella told The National earlier this month.
“There are huge opportunities for us to deploy AI in solving some of these extraordinarily complex challenges,” Mr Vaz said.
Amid AI's growth, however, Mr Vaz said its risks should be noted and appropriately addressed – sooner rather than later to prevent any misuse or other negative effects in the future.
“Any AI model is only as good as the data that it was trained on. So if you train something on the internet, you're bound to have things that are great, and things that are entirely incorrect and wrong,” he said.
Mr Vaz also argues that “we are nowhere close to the general intelligence world where you now have AI driving reasoning and decision-making outside of human intervention”.
“And if these models have essentially been grounded on that, there's a lot of work that has to be done in terms of reinforcement to play down things that you don't want, like bias and [copyright] infringement.”
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Remaining Fixtures
Wednesday: West Indies v Scotland
Thursday: UAE v Zimbabwe
Friday: Afghanistan v Ireland
Sunday: Final
FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdited%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Idries%20Trevathan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20240%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hirmer%20Publishers%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
The%20specs
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Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
