In 1997, IBM’s Deep Blue defeated world chess champion Garry Kasparov, and by 2023, ChatGPT passed the bar exam, signaling rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI). Business leaders, including Elon Musk, predict that artificial general intelligence could emerge soon, sparking excitement and concern over potential economic impacts.
Salman Khan, CEO of Khan Academy, suggests that the AI revolution may disrupt white-collar jobs significantly, leading to a potential 10% unemployment rate, likening it to a modern-day Great Depression. He emphasizes that this could create an identity crisis for many who have maintained stable, upper-middle-class incomes.
Studies indicate that AI could replace nearly 12% of the U.S. workforce by 2025, which includes not only traditional office jobs but also roles in the gig economy, affected by advances like self-driving cars. Khan advocates for companies to invest 1% of their labor costs in retraining initiatives to help displaced workers transition to new roles.
Despite a recent drop in the unemployment rate, the trend of AI-related layoffs is emerging, with 55,000 occurring last year, including significant cuts at Salesforce. Khan warns that proactive measures must be taken now to mitigate future employment disruptions.
Source link
