AI integration creates new divide in the labor market

Artificial intelligence is creating a new divide in the labor market, defined not by access to technology, but by the ability to integrate it effectively into professional tasks. While most workers have access to AI tools, a significant gap is emerging between those who use them to automate complex workflows and those who use them only for simple queries or text rewriting.

Prof. dr. Simona Ramanauskaitė of Vilnius TECH notes that the most valuable employees will be those who understand which parts of a task to delegate to technology and which require human oversight. This shift is compared to the early days of internet search and spreadsheet proficiency, where the ability to use tools efficiently became a fundamental professional requirement.

As AI assistants evolve from answering questions to performing actions—such as managing calendars, finding data in emails, or assisting with orders—new risks emerge. Innovation expert Arnoldas Lukošius warns that as AI agents gain the ability to execute multi-step tasks across different applications, human verification becomes critical. A survey of 8,400 users across eight European countries indicates that while people are open to AI assisting with electronics purchases, trust remains low for sensitive areas like health and food, due to the risk of AI misinterpreting instructions or data.