Two thirds of participants in the region expect quality jobs from artificial intelligence amid a global divide

The labor market in the Middle East stands on the opposite side of Western economies in its view of the future of jobs, as the results of a survey of more than 61,000 participants in 32 countries reveal a sharp divide between the global North and South. While pessimism dominates European and American labor markets, fearing waves of automation, the region leads with notable optimism, with 66 percent of respondents in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco believing that artificial intelligence will create quality jobs that exceed what it may eliminate.

The report issued by the Future Investment Initiative Institute titled “Priority Compass” shows that the global South’s outlook is generally more positive toward emerging technology compared with wealthier economies. While 70 percent of participants in the global North reject the idea that artificial intelligence will create quality jobs, this disbelief drops to just 43 percent in global South countries, stabilizing the global overall at 54 percent skeptics. The share of optimists about job creation never exceeds 27 percent in Europe and 33 percent in North America, placing the Middle East and North Africa at the top of the global index.

Professional optimism does not mean granting the machine absolute discretion.The data showed a rare consensus linking different geographic regions, with 85 percent of participants worldwide calling for an international regulatory framework that imposes strict human oversight on the development of artificial intelligence models. Dr. Maha bint Mashari, chief executive of the Future Investment Initiative Institute, confirmed in the report that this demand reflects a pressing global desire to keep human control over emerging technologies, coinciding with the widening scope of their applications in daily life and production sites.

This cautious anticipation comes amid living-cost crises that pressure the overall landscape, with half of participants worldwide confirming that the cost of living remains their primary concern, which the institute’s director described as a global confidence crisis that news headlines do not accurately reflect given individuals’ struggles with inflation and daily expenses. Other differences that enhance the South’s capacity for transformation also emerged; the region ranked second globally in cryptocurrency acceptance at 71 percent, behind Africa at 81 percent, while the rate did not exceed 30 percent in the global North and 28 percent in Europe, at a time when low wages topped the list as the second largest concern in the South at 32 percent, while energy worries rose to 29 percent.

What actually changes for professionals and team leaders in the Gulf and Egypt?This disparity carries direct implementation implications for anyone managing talent or charting a career path. The presence of a local work environment that views technology as an opportunity to create value rather than a job threat gives regional institutions exceptional speed in adopting tools without encountering the change resistance familiar in Western firms. Yet the overwhelming global consensus on human oversight at 85 percent confirms that the desired value will not stop at technical use, but requires leadership of workflow, quality control of outputs and compliance with governance standards. The most effective skill in the region’s market today does not lie solely in rapid algorithm adoption, but in tight human supervision of them and the management of their operational risks.