For decades, every wave of technological change has triggered fear of mass unemployment. During the Industrial Revolution, steam engines were accused of putting people out of work. When electricity entered factories, skeptics worried that human labor would become unnecessary. Even the arrival of ATMs was expected to wipe out bank tellers. Yet history consistently tells a different story. When societies reorganize around new technologies and reinvest the productivity gains, they create more jobs than they lose. Industries that embraced steam power later employed nearly twice as many workers as before. Electrification expanded output and diversified factory work. ATMs eventually increased teller employment by allowing banks to open more branches and shift staff into customer service roles.

Artificial Intelligence now provokes the same anxieties. Around the world, workers and policymakers fear widespread displacement. But global evidence shows that AI is far more likely to augment existing jobs than to eliminate them. The International Labour Organization finds that in most cases AI supports human tasks instead of replacing them outright. The International Monetary Fund estimates that about 40 percent of jobs worldwide will be touched by AI, some through substitution but many more through complementarity. Where employers adopt AI responsibly and governments provide training, AI often improves productivity, job satisfaction, and wages. History’s lesson is clear. It is not the technology itself that destroys jobs, but the failure to adapt, reskill, and reinvest.

For Liberia, this lesson is particularly timely. The country already has a digital base that can be expanded into a job creating engine. At the start of 2025 Liberia had an estimated 1.84 million internet users—about 32.4 percent of the population—and roughly 941,000 social media user identities, equal to 16.6 percent of the population. This represents a meaningful base for AI enabled services, digital commerce, and creator monetization, especially among young people. Yet youth unemployment remains a persistent challenge, with rates fluctuating significantly in recent years. That makes new, digital pathways to income all the more urgent. Digital and mobile connectivity are steadily growing across Sub Saharan Africa, but Liberia still faces constraints in device affordability, electricity reliability, and usage gaps. Overcoming these barriers will be critical to broadening participation in the digital economy.

Liberia also has important policy foundations on which to build. The ICT Policy 2019–2024 provided the first framework for digital growth. More recently, in July 2025, the government with support from UNDP began finalizing a new National Digital Strategy to update ICT policy and position Liberia as a future tech and financial hub. Aligning a dedicated AI strategy with these frameworks can turn today’s connectivity into tomorrow’s jobs.

The fastest growing opportunity is in the creator economy. Across the world, young people are building sustainable income streams by producing digital content and monetizing through platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. AI dramatically reduces the cost and skill barrier by automating editing, captioning, graphic design, and even translation. For Liberia’s youth this is a chance to leap into the global digital economy. The challenge is that some platforms still restrict monetization features for Liberian accounts. Without policy engagement and partnerships young creators remain locked out of global earnings. By negotiating access to platform monetization tools, training creators in AI assisted production, and ensuring digital payment systems are in place, Liberia can unlock a powerful new source of youth employment.

Beyond the creator economy, AI can create jobs in other sectors as well. Small and medium sized enterprises can use AI for bookkeeping, customer service, and marketing, freeing entrepreneurs to grow and hire more staff. Agriculture, which employs a majority of Liberians, can benefit from AI driven weather predictions, disease detection via smartphones, and smarter logistics systems. This will create demand for agri technologists, data collectors, and field agents. Tourism and cultural industries can expand through AI assisted content and marketing, attracting diaspora and foreign visitors. Even in government, AI can improve service delivery in areas like permits, licensing, and tax collection while creating new roles for data stewards, annotators, and system administrators.

Risks remain but they can be managed. Clerical and entry level jobs may be disrupted as AI handles routine paperwork and basic queries. If left unmanaged this could create bottlenecks for young people seeking entry into the labor market. The solution is structured reskilling programs, supervised AI workflows, and mentorship schemes that ensure entry level workers gain experience while using AI as a support tool. Another risk is platform dependency. If global platforms change their monetization policies or continue to exclude Liberia, local creators’ incomes remain fragile. Infrastructure is another bottleneck, as high data costs, limited device affordability, and unreliable electricity exclude many from the digital economy. Investments in broadband expansion, shared infrastructure, and device financing programs will be essential to broaden access.

Liberia’s peers in West Africa are already moving decisively. Nigeria released a National AI Strategy in 2024 through its National Information Technology Development Agency. Ghana followed in 2025 with a strategy focused on data, skills, and responsible deployment. Senegal adopted a National Strategy for AI in 2023 with plans to train 90,000 people in data science by 2028. Rwanda approved its own AI policy in 2023 aligning broadband expansion with AI readiness. At the continental level the African Union has placed AI on its policy agenda, focusing on talent, data, and governance. These examples show that West Africa is not waiting for AI to happen. It is investing heavily to shape AI for job creation and competitiveness. Liberia must do the same.

The path forward is clear. Liberia should publish a National AI Roadmap under its new Digital Strategy prioritizing creator monetization, SME adoption, GovTech pilots, and AI skills certification. Creator hubs should be established across key counties equipped with studios and AI tools, and backed by micro grants and data vouchers. SME pilots should be co funded to test AI in accounting, marketing, and logistics. Government services such as business registration and work permits should deploy AI copilots while hiring local youth as QA testers and annotators. Most importantly, a national program should be launched to train Liberian youth in AI data stewardship, governance, and compliance. These skills are already in demand globally.

AI will not automatically create jobs. But history proves that when new technologies are paired with bold leadership, skills investment, and smart policy, they expand opportunity. For Liberia, AI offers a once in a generation chance to tackle youth unemployment, diversify the economy, and empower the next generation of innovators. Far from being a threat, AI can become Liberia’s next jobs revolution if the country chooses to make it so.

References

• International Labour Organization (2023, 2025). Generative AI and Jobs: Global Analysis & Refined Index.
• International Monetary Fund (2024). Kristalina Georgieva, AI Will Transform the Global Economy.
• OECD (2023). Employment Outlook: Artificial Intelligence and the Labour Market.
• DataReportal (2025). Digital 2025: Liberia.
• UNDP (2025). Supporting Liberia’s National Digital Strategy.
• NITDA (Nigeria, 2024). National AI Strategy.
• Ghana Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (2025). National AI Strategy.
• Government of Senegal (2023). National Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence.
• Rwanda Ministry of ICT and Innovation (2023). National AI Policy.
• Bessen J. (2015). “Toil and Technology,” IMF Finance and Development.
• David P. (1990s). “The Dynamo and the Computer,” AER Papers and Proceedings.
• Nuvolari A. and de Pleijt A. (2010s). Studies on steam adoption and labor markets.