Impact

Creating Opportunities For All In The Intelligent Age

Published · Updated
  • AI and digital technologies are driving innovation and productivity growth, but are also actively shaping the future workplace, creating new employment opportunities and challenges on a global scale.
  • Through the World Economic Forum’s Communications & Technology Industry Community, 25 leading technology companies have pledged to collectively support more than 120 million workers by 2030, focusing on providing access to digital technologies, skills development, and clear pathways to future jobs, with particular attention to those without formal technical backgrounds.
  • Additionally, strategy executives of the Communications & Technology companies are sharing key insights and best practices to guide leaders in adapting to rapid technological change.

AI is having a major impact on the world of work

The accelerating advance of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies is fundamentally reshaping societies and economies, creating both opportunities and challenges. On the one hand, AI brings a promise of enhanced productivity, new business models and growth. But on the other hand, challenges exist around worker displacement and an exacerbation of existing socio-economic disparities.

The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025, predicts that - mainly due to technological changes - this decade will see the creation of 170 million new jobs, offset by the displacement of 92 million positions, resulting in a net increase of 78 million jobs. While the overall number of jobs may not pose the biggest issue over time, successfully navigating the shift to new roles is crucial. It’s essential to ensure that workers, especially those without formal academic credentials or technical backgrounds, are not left behind, but are instead equipped with the skills and pathways needed to thrive in an intelligent economy.

Have you read?
  • The Future of Jobs Report 2025
  • Skills development is critical to bridging the global digital talent gap
  • AI at work: Insights from 20 leading technology companies

The Communications and Technology (C&T) Industry Community at the Forum acknowledges that the responsibility of the sector goes beyond developing digital tools. It also needs to ensure this transition is inclusive, human-centered, and focused on creating meaningful, fulfilling work. Technology development and deployment must go hand in hand with investing in digital skills, ethical standards and supportive organizational cultures.

Leveraging the Forum platform, the C&T Industry Community set out to contribute in two ways:

  • Creating insights for decision makers: using their insider view, more than 20 strategy executives in the sector shared their perspectives on how AI is changing work.
  • Supporting workers: 25 companies made concrete commitments to support more than 120 million workers with access to digital technology, skills and job pathways for the jobs of the future.

The companies we lead are at the forefront of the transformation of enterprise and society, and as AI fuels productivity and unlocks opportunity, it calls on us to empower individuals and communities to thrive in this era. The C&T Community Pledge exemplifies the progress that can be achieved when we collaborate on a common goal that goes beyond the interests of any single organization.

Ravi Kumar S, Chief Executive Officer, Cognizant

Insights into how AI is impacting work and jobs

Three years after the release of ChatGPT, many firms are still in the early stages of adoption. The community paper AI at Work: From Productivity Hacks to Organizational Transformation, shares experiences of technology companies on what it takes to move from pilot to successful scaling of AI and the impact on workers. Their conclusion is clear: the promise of AI lies not in replacing people, but in reimagining how human and digital capabilities complement each other.

The paper highlights key insights:

  • Scaling is as much an organizational feat as a technical one. Success depends on high-quality data, governance, organizational redesign and integration into workflows; without those pieces, AI risks becoming a costly distraction.
  • Job hierarchies are shifting in unexpected ways. Routine starter tasks are being automated, but greater vulnerability may lie in mid-career coordination roles, not at the entry level.
  • Cultural dividends may be as valuable as productivity. Business leaders have seen reduced burn-out, faster learning and greater employee engagement when AI was integrated into work.
  • Adoption is advancing unevenly. Large enterprises drive frontier experimentation, while smaller firms and emerging markets may leapfrog with inventive, context-specific applications.

These early findings guide executives towards key questions on how to redesign career paths, sustain cultural gains, embed accountability, and adapt to diverse global contexts.

The shift to an intelligent economy demands skills that match it, and harnessing talent is the most important investment we make and the most urgent responsibility we share. At e&, we treat talent development programmes as a core investment in national growth. And with this pledge, we’re building a workforce ready for the next decade of economic progress.

Hatem Dowidar, Group Chief Executive Officer, e&

Supporting workers in the transition

Leaders in the C&T sector then turned insights into action to address challenges for tech workers and others. Focus areas include making technology and AI resources accessible across regions and socioeconomic groups, clarifying technical and interpersonal skills needed, evaluating AI’s impact on entry-level jobs, supporting skill development for new entrants, and helping individuals without formal education or technical backgrounds transition into tech roles.

To address these challenges, the industry leaders share a commitment in the form of an industry pledge to create economic opportunities for all in the intelligent age. Commitments are focused around three pillars:

  • Access: Providing workers and potential workers with access to AI and other relevant digital technologies – free of charge and considering potential socio-economic, cultural, or language barriers.
  • Skills: Enriching workers with AI, digital and human skills to work more productively in their current roles, to be better positioned for newly created jobs, or to bridge to new digital roles as current roles are displaced by AI.
  • Job pathways: Creating pathways to equip those who lack formal tech qualifications with an opportunity to access the digital, AI-native jobs of the future.

Now 25 C&T companies have made concrete commitments to support a total of more than 120 million workers by 2030. The individual commitments are listed below.

Get involved

If your company or organization operates within the Communications and Technology sector and is advancing AI access, skills and/or job pathways, we invite you to join this collective pledge.

Share your programmes, measurable goals, and progress with the Forum team. Formalize commitments through the Reskilling Revolution (skills) or the Future of Jobs Initiative (pathways). Together, we can ensure the intelligent age delivers opportunity for everyone.

Discover

Accenture commits to supporting 10 million individuals through skills-development and job pathway programs

Discover

ADP commits to supporting individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

Automation Anywhere commits to supporting 2 million individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

Capgemini commits to supporting more than 10 million individuals through skills-development and job pathway programs

Discover

Celonis commits to supporting more than 900 thousand individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

Cisco commits to supporting 25 million individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

Cloudflare commits to supporting more than 1 thousand individuals through access and job pathway programs

Discover

Cognizant commits to supporting 2 million individuals through skills-development and job pathway programs

Discover

Dassault Systèmes commits to supporting more than 1 million individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

Dell Technologies commits to supporting individuals through access, skills-development and job pathway programs

Discover

e& commits to supporting more than 30 thousand individuals through skills-development and job pathway programs

Discover

HP commits to supporting 5 million individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

IBM commits to supporting more than 30 million individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

NTT DATA commits to supporting individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

Pegasystems commits to supporting 10 thousand individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

Salesforce commits to supporting 16 million individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

SAP commits to supporting 12 million individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

ServiceNow commits to supporting 3 million individuals through skills-development and job pathway programs

Discover

Snowflake commits to supporting more than 1 million individuals through skills-development and job pathway programs

Discover

Synopsys commits to supporting individuals through access and skills-development programs

Discover

Tech Mahindra commits to supporting individuals through skills-developing programs

Discover

Telefónica commits to supporting individuals through access, skills-development and job pathway programs

Discover

Wipro commits to supporting more than 1 million individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

Workday commits to supporting 3 million individuals through skills-development programs

Discover

Zoom commits to supporting individuals through skills-development and job pathway programs

Stay up to date:

Future of Work

JOIN THE FORUM
Join us today and help shape a better future
Get involved
Share:
Partners:
AccentureADPAutomation AnywhereCapgeminiCelonisCiscoCloudflareCognizantDassault SystèmesDell Technologiese&HPIBMMahindra GroupNTT DATA GroupPegasystemsSalesforceSAPServiceNowSnowflakeSynopsysTelefónicaWiproWorkdayZoom
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Future of Work is affecting economies, industries and global issues
World Economic Forum logo

Forum Stories newsletter

Bringing you weekly curated insights and analysis on the global issues that matter.

Subscribe today

About us

Engage with us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2026 World Economic Forum