There is a wide belief that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to greatly increase productivity, which may also lead to widespread job displacement. This could happen sooner rather than later, if humanity loses its ability to innovate, indicated Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, in an interview with CNN.
"If the world runs out of ideas, then productivity gains translates to job loss," said Jensen Huang in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. Huang had been asked about comments made by Dario Amodei, who suggested AI would cause mass employment disruptions.
The Nvidia CEO's comments were in response to recent warnings from Dario Amodei, the head of AI firm Anthropic. Last month, Amodei told Axios that the rise of artificial intelligence might wipe out half of all entry-level office positions and push national unemployment as high as 20% within five years. Huang did not dispute the possibility, but said the outcome depends heavily on society's creative drive.
Indeed, he might be right. A century ago, there were complaints about cars based on the internal combustion engine (ICE) leaving those involved in servicing horses unemployed. Years later, the horse guys were servicing ICE cars and earning much more. While we are speculating, the same could happen here.
Research provides more estimates of employment impacts
Industry surveys reflect these employment concerns. A 2024 study from Adecco Group found that 41% of corporate leaders expect AI to reduce staffing at thousands of firms over the next half-decade. Separately, a report released in January by the World Economic Forum (WEF) indicated that 41% of employers plan to shrink their teams by 2030 due to automation driven by AI.
Surveys also show a shift in how work is performed. A 2024 joint survey by Duke University and Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Richmond found that over half of large American firms intend to use AI to take over routine tasks like invoice processing and supplier payments.
Huang said all occupations will feel the effects of AI in some form. While certain roles will disappear, he expects many others to be introduced, so the fears about dramatically high unemployment rates are unsubstantiated for now. The head of Nvidia noted that even his own role has evolved due to AI, though he remains active in it. He called AI the most accessible technology advancement yet, capable of helping even those with limited technical skills.
Looking to the past, Huang pointed out that technological breakthroughs over the last several centuries — including the computing era — have historically resulted in both job creation and improved productivity. He argued that with the right ideas, technology can unlock entirely new areas of growth and benefit society as a whole.
The CEO of Nvidia expressed hope that increased efficiency across industries will ultimately improve living standards, but he cautioned that this outcome is not guaranteed unless innovation continues.
Nvidia, which briefly reached a $4 trillion market capitalization earlier this month, plays a central role in the ongoing AI boom as its data center GPUs are used for both AI training and inference by companies like Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft.
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