German labour minister sees AI forcing millions of workers to adapt

Millions of employees in Germany are having to adapt the way they work in response to the increasing use of artificial intelligence, according to Germany's Labour Minister Hubertus Heil.

During a visit to the southern German city of Tübingen on Tuesday, the minister said that even demanding types of work work could now be automated.

He cited the retail, banking and insurance sectors as examples of areas where AI's influence was increasingly being felt. Work would not disappear in industry, Heil said, but the requirements for employees would change.

According to a representative survey by Bitkom Research, 41% of people in Germany often feel overwhelmed by digital technologies.

Another survey, by consulting firm Ernst & Young, found that just under one in four people are worried that machines or technology will replace them.

However, Heil struck a positive note. "Even in times of artificial intelligence," he said, "we as a society will probably not run out of work, but it will be different work in many respects."

He emphasized that while human labour is irreplaceable in the areas of health, education and care, artificial intelligence is also finding its way into these areas, "for example, to relieve carers of documentation duties through speech recognition systems."

This, he said, allowed human labour to be concentrated where it is essential. "By 2035, we will see that practically every job will involve artificial intelligence in one way or another in different ways," the minister said.