Artificial intelligence may add more jobs than it will eliminate

It was just a few weeks ago that Sophia, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered humanoid robot developed by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics, was given honorary citizenship by Saudi Arabia. While AI is making huge inroads into our day-to-day life, was this something expected to happen so soon? Nevertheless, the success of Sophia as well as other humanoids in activities ranging from shop floor management to complex jobs--sometimes doing tasks better than humans--is a testimony to the disruptions happening with technological advancements. Meanwhile, even though the popular perception is that AI is only going to be a job killer, reports also say that 2020 onwards, AI will start adding more jobs than it would take away. According a report by research firm Gartner, Inc., AI will create 2.3 million new jobs while eliminating only 1.8 million jobs in 2020.