At the Digital Education forum held during ICT Week Uzbekistan, representatives of international organizations and technology companies discussed the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on education and the labor market. Amid the rapid expansion of AI, its potential threats and opportunities for countries and economies became the central topic of debate.
Cecilia Paradi-Guilford, Senior Digital Development Specialist at the World Bank, emphasized that the key question today is not whether AI will destroy or create jobs. "Which tasks will change, who will benefit, and who is at risk of being left behind — that is the main issue," she said. According to her, any job consists of a set of tasks, and AI can take over some of them, help people perform others more efficiently, and create new tasks. "The fact that a job is affected by AI does not mean it will disappear," Paradi-Guilford noted.
According to the World Bank's World Development Report 2026 on AI, in economies similar to Uzbekistan, about 4.5% of jobs are at risk of automation. At the same time, the number of jobs that could see productivity gains due to AI is nearly four times higher. "It follows that for Uzbekistan, the risk is not job loss but a missed opportunity: competitors will reach this milestone faster, and tools will evolve before people learn to use them," explained the World Bank representative. The report proposes a three-stage path for countries: adopt, adapt, and advance.
Paradi-Guilford listed four strengths of Uzbekistan: high internet usage, achievements in STEM graduates, significant investment in skills, and a sharp increase in AI-related scientific publications. However, she sees the most serious problem for young people just entering the labor market. "Based on US data, there has been no widespread destruction of jobs for young people entering the labor market, but for young workers entering occupations more exposed to AI, certain delays have emerged due to reduced hiring rates. This raises the question: how do people gain experience when entry-level, more routine jobs are changing, and these first jobs are truly important?" she said. In other words, AI is now taking over simple tasks previously performed by young, inexperienced specialists — the very jobs that served as a school of experience. The World Bank sees the solution in restructuring internships and apprenticeship programs.
Larisa Whitcroft, Senior Director for Central Asia at Coursera, believes that AI is both a threat and an opportunity. The key is that whether it is a threat or an opportunity is determined not by the technology itself but by people. She cited figures: since 2022, demand for junior specialists has dropped by 28%, as simple and repetitive tasks previously assigned to young employees are now performed quickly and cheaply by AI. Moreover, professional skills now become obsolete in just 18–24 months. At the same time, according to IDC estimates, the value created by AI will reach $22.5 trillion by 2031. However, Whitcroft drew attention to the distribution of this value: "Look at other numbers: 74% of this value accrues to just 20% of organizations. So the main problem and threat is not that AI is coming, but that it is coming unevenly. Entire countries may be left behind. So the question is what to do to join that 20% group," she said.
According to Whitcroft, the answer lies not in technology but in people. BCG research shows that 70% of the benefit from AI comes from people and processes. Only 20% comes from technology and 10% from algorithms. Yet when looking at companies' readiness for AI, the readiness of technology and infrastructure stands at 43%, while for employees this figure is 20%. "So we are investing twice as much in infrastructure and leaving people somewhat behind. But for AI to deliver real impact, people need to use this infrastructure," she said. She offered three recommendations: schools and universities should teach not just the tool but the entire cycle; employers should invest in employee training; governments and founders should invest in the applied layer of AI — products that solve specific problems based on ready-made models.
Inna Ozhogina, Regional Manager at AWS (Amazon Web Services), listed four necessary conditions for the proper use of AI and for turning it from a threat into an opportunity: AI must be safe, reliable, accessible to all, and people must have the necessary knowledge to use it. At the end of the forum, participants emphasized the need for AI literacy for everyone, as well as the importance of internships and apprenticeships. "I am not worried that AI will make people redundant; I am worried that we will not adapt in time," summarized the World Bank representative.
Source: www.gazeta.uz