WOMEN could be among those hardest hit by artificial intelligence (AI)-driven job disruption in Jamaica, while workers who can effectively use the technology are expected to have the strongest employment prospects.

“The jobs that are highly exposed are female-dominated jobs. And what we know from the data is that 44 per cent of households in Jamaica are headed by women,” former University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) dean Professor Paul Golding said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

The analysis, conducted by Golding using International Labour Organization (ILO) methodology and Jamaica’s labour market data, found that approximately 144,000 women and 112,000 men work in occupations exposed to artificial intelligence. That exposure means AI could automate some tasks currently performed by workers or, in certain cases, replace jobs altogether.