By PYMNTS | October 12, 2026
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said artificial intelligence investment is keeping global growth at around 3%, Reuters reported Monday (Oct. 12).
At the same time, the trend portends a “slow-moving tsunami” that could upend labor markets, taxation, and education, Georgieva said at a weeklong set of meetings of the IMF and World Bank in Bangkok, according to the report.
“AI, love it, hate it. It’s already here,” Georgieva said, per the report. “That shift into higher gear is what is keeping the world economy growing at around 3%, despite the fact we are being dragged down by the energy supply shock.”
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The 3% figure came from a July forecast by the IMF, which will release an updated projection Tuesday (Oct. 13), the report said.
When asked about AI’s negative effect on jobs, Georgieva pointed to IMF research showing that some 40% of jobs will be augmented, downgraded or eliminated by the technology, with that figure climbing to as high as 60% in advanced economies, according to the report. This will have implications for employment, growth, education and even how governments earn revenue through taxation, considering the expected shift from labor to capital.
One study showed that 10% of jobs in the United States now require AI skills, the report said. While routine, repetitive jobs were declining, low-paying jobs were on the rise in construction and data centers, the IMF found.
The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Wage to Wallet™ Index – The Resilience Deficit: Labor Workers in an Automated Economy” found in April that while AI is appearing in every type of workplace, low-income workers are receiving less training, expressing lower confidence and displaying fewer financial buffers to absorb disruption.
“The findings also suggested that AI’s impact is moving beyond Silicon Valley and corporate offices into warehouses, restaurants, hospitality, logistics and caregiving jobs that make up a large share of everyday consumer spending,” PYMNTS reported in May.
Around one-third of U.S. workers are now part of the Labor Economy category, representing about 60 million adults and approximately 15% of annual GDP. The research found that close to 60% of Labor workers affected by AI did not receive training on the new technology, while just 42% received instruction on how to use the tools.
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