A recent study by Funcas, an economic and social research think tank, reveals that the implementation of Artificial Intelligence could have a significant impact on employment in the archipelago. Estimates suggest that between 78,000 and 105,000 jobs could be lost in the Canary Islands over the next ten years, representing approximately 10% of the total employment in the islands.

Nationally, the report forecasts the elimination of between 1.7 and 2.3 million jobs. However, the study, led by a professor of Economics at the UGR and director of the Financial and Digitalization Area at Funcas, also anticipates the creation of new jobs. It is estimated that AI could generate 1.6 million jobs across Spain within the same period, which, if distributed equally, could mean around 73,000 new positions for the Canary Islands.

Despite the creation of new opportunities, the net balance between jobs destroyed and created is projected to be negative, both nationally and regionally. This implies that, while AI will open new professional avenues, it will also displace many current occupations.

Professions such as programmers, customer service personnel, market analysts, and sales agents are among the most vulnerable. Nevertheless, the Spanish economy, and by extension the Canarian economy, shows less sensitivity to the risk of automation due to the significant weight of sectors like tourism and hospitality, where AI penetration is lower compared to the technology sector. Furthermore, it is expected that between 2.8 and 3.5 million workers will improve their productivity thanks to this technology, especially in the service sector.

Experts point out that, historically, technological innovations have generated more employment in the long term, although they have also required constant adaptation of labor skills. In the context of the Canary Islands, with a high structural unemployment rate and an aging workforce, updating knowledge is presented as a crucial challenge to remain relevant in the labor market.