Recent discussions at The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference highlighted the predicted impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the workforce. Tech leaders, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, expressed their belief that AI will lead to significant changes in the job market. Altman emphasized the need for society to address the challenges of this transition, ensuring that individuals have the ability to influence and be architects of the future. Khosla went further, predicting that within a decade, AI will be capable of performing 80% of the tasks currently undertaken by the majority of professions, potentially rendering many jobs obsolete.
Altman stressed that while AI will likely bring overall improvements to society and the economy, it may disproportionately impact certain individuals. This necessitates a societal rethink and a proactive approach in helping those most affected. He urged the need for people to have agency and influence in shaping their own future amid the rapid changes AI brings.
Khosla drew parallels between the future impact of AI on jobs and the disappearance of agricultural jobs in the 20th Century in the United States. He explained that this transition will not occur overnight, but over a period of time, similar to how farming jobs gradually declined over generations. Khosla highlighted professions such as physicians and accountants as potential targets for AI’s capabilities due to their dependence on accessing extensive knowledge.
Overall, the discussion emphasized the seismic changes that AI is expected to bring to the workforce. While there are differing opinions on the speed at which this transformation will occur, it is widely agreed that it will require society to redesign its approach to work and provide support to those most affected by these changes.
