While employees of all gender identities have reason to be anxious over the quick and ferocious advent of artificial intelligence, women may have the most reason to be concerned

The relatively sudden and rapid rise of AI technology has a lot of people worried about its impact on jobs: could it replace some workers, and if so, which ones?

A new report from Revelio Labs suggests that it may be some of the female-dominated professions that are most at risk from AI. Billing and account collectors, payroll and timekeeping clerks and executive assistants were identified as the top three areas where AI could replace workers; all three are jobs predominantly staffed by women.

“The distribution of genders across occupations reflects the biases deeply rooted in our society, with women often being confined to roles such as administrative assistants and secretaries,” said Hakki Ozdenoren, economist at Revelio Labs. “Consequently, the impact of AI becomes skewed along gender lines.”

Forecasts like this give us some reason for pause, especially as the conversation around AI turns to what kind of regulation it ought to be subject to, with many of its creators now calling for government regulation. AI is very much a product of a tech economy that was meant to improve work for the population, and warnings that it will simply exacerbate gender disparities might cause us to ask why it’s being pursued at all.

“Tech giants are desperately trying to push themselves into a beneficial pole position to have a chance to become the defacto AI-powered landing page of the internet and I’m fairly sure they don’t consider the impact of their technologies on women as a whole,” writes Michael Spencer.

Some, however, see now as the time to create sensible regulations around the way AI is deployed, if it is simply being used as a job-killing, labour-saving strategy. Erin Young, research fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, suggests that knowing AI is poised to impact women most can be an important data point as those regulations are written.

“Firstly, governments should ensure that new technologies are developed within a regulatory framework that prioritizes and protects women’s rights,” said Young. “And secondly, ethical frameworks for auditing and monitoring AI technologies should put gender equality at their core.”

Content written by Kieran Delamont for Worklife, a partnership between Ahria Consulting and London Inc. To view this content in newsletter form, click here.