Abstract

The use of new digital technologies will change the world of work, and even - or especially - highly skilled workers will be affected. The substitutability potential indicates the extent to which occupations are currently potentially replaceable through the use of computers or computer-controlled machines. It corresponds to the proportion of activities in an occupation that could already be replaced today through the use of modern technologies (for more details see appendix page 25). The potential for substitution is still highest in unskilled and skilled occupations. What is new, however, is that the growth rates are highest in the expert occupations (e.g. due to generative artificial intelligence). Although manufacturing and manufacturing technology occupations still have the highest proportion of digitalizable activities, the highest growth rates for the period 2019 to 2022 relate to IT and scientific service occupations. This study shows how much the world of work has already changed in Hesse. However, it should be emphasized that the study examines the technical possibility of humans being replaced by machines. Whether this will actually happen in the end is not certain. What is technically feasible may not be implemented in the end because many things could turn out to be too complex. The challenge lies not in job cuts, but in the rapidly changing activities of employees