Connect with us
Image by Microsoft Bing Image creator, based on a prompt by Gadget.

Artificial Intelligence

WEF 2025: AI looms
large over Davos

A new report shows the biggest growth in demand will be for technology skills, but human skills will remain critical, writes ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will cast a large shadow over next week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, as world leaders grapple with its transformative impact on jobs, economies, and societies.

The WEF’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 released last week finds that AI is fundamentally reshaping global labour markets, both creating opportunities and posing profound challenges.

More than 1,000 companies worldwide provided data, which showed that the skills gap continues to be the most significant barrier to business transformation. Nearly 40% of skills required on the job are set to change and 63% of employers already cite it as the key barrier they face.

The biggest growth in demand will be for technology skills in AI, big data and cybersecurity, but human skills, such as creative thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility, will remain critical.

“A combination of both skill types will be increasingly crucial in a fast-shifting job market,” the report finds.

Ironically, human-focused jobs, like frontline roles and in essential sectors like care and education, are set for the highest job growth by 2030. At the same time, advances in AI and renewable energy are reshaping the market, driving an increase in demand for specialist roles while driving a decline for others, such as graphic designers.

A second report released on Wednesday by the WEF, the Global Risks Report 2025, as well as the AI Radar report released by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on the same day, find that AI will play a major role in addressing global economic, technological, and workforce transitions this year.

“In my discussions with CEOs, it’s clear they are prioritising AI to drive productivity,” said Christoph Schweizer, CEO of BCG, in a media briefing this week. According to the AI Radar, 75% of global executives rank AI among their top three strategic priorities, with one-third of companies planning to allocate over $25-million to AI initiatives in the coming year.

However, the report reveals that only 25% of companies achieve meaningful returns from their AI investments, highlighting the gap between ambition and execution. Successful organisations focus on a few targeted use cases, scale rapidly, and integrate AI deeply into their operations, achieving ROI that far outpaces peers.

In Africa, BCG finds, 35% of companies are not defining and monitoring any financial KPIs related to AI value creation. Sixty-two percent of these companies lack maturity in effective AI organisational change management, and 68% have indicated challenges hiring AI talent and upskilling their existing workforce.

There are several bright spots in the WEF jobs report. Globally, only 7% of executives anticipate a reduction in headcount due to AI automation. However, nearly 40% of required job skills are expected to change by 2030. The report highlights that reskilling and upskilling efforts are falling short, with fewer than one-third of companies having upskilled even 25% of their workforce.

In Africa, 31% of companies lead global efforts in AI and GenAI upskilling, but significant challenges remain.

“African executives see talent and AI as complementary,” the report states, with 66% of respondents envisioning collaborative roles for humans and AI.

The finding that will probably provide the greatest comfort to the working public is that AI is driving the creation of new roles in technology, data science, and renewable energy.

That must be balanced with the finding that autonomous AI agents, capable of achieving goals with minimal human input, are gaining traction, with 67% of executives considering their deployment. Notably, 65% of African companies are exploring or implementing AI agents, demonstrating regional optimism about the technology’s potential.

This is reflected in a steady flow of public relations announcements from South African companies on the topic, for example local process automation company Clevva declaring 2025 as the dawn of the “agentic era”.

AI’s rapid adoption brings risks. Data privacy, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance are top concerns for 66% of executives, according to the Global Risks Report. The generative capabilities of AI, while groundbreaking, have also amplified threats like misinformation and cyberattacks.

Peter Giger, group chief risk officer at Zurich Insurance Group, warned: “The biggest risk is to sit back and say there’s nothing we can do. It’s not too late.”

* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx and editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za. Follow him on Bluesky on @art2gee.bsky.social.

Subscribe to our free newsletter
To Top