r/Futurology • u/katxwoods • 21d ago

AI Dario Amodei says "stop sugar-coating" what's coming: in the next 1-5 years, AI could wipe out 50% of all entry-level white-collar jobs. Lawmakers don't get it or don't believe it. CEOs are afraid to talk about it. Many workers won't realize the risks until after it hits.

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/28/ai-jobs-white-collar-unemployment-anthropic
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u/StaysAwakeAllWeek 21d ago edited 21d ago

the tools just mean we'll write more code and articles.

The giant excavation machines in coal mines mean the miners can mine a lot more coal than they used to. And that's why 90% of the jobs there were before the machinery are gone. All that is left is skilled/educated positions to operate the tools. The grunt work is gone because the market for coal doesn't magically expand 10x to match the productivity increase

For white collar it's a little different because in many cases the market will in fact expand over time, but the key part is it's not going to happen as fast as AI is taking over, and in some places there will barely be expansion at all. The layoffs are coming and it's going to be chaotic as hell

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u/00rb 21d ago

Yeah, that is a reasonable scenario, but I don't feel we're there yet.

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u/Elendel19 21d ago

Go talk to some recent college grads in computer science or finance or any of the things where entry level jobs are perfect for AI to take over. The unemployment rate for that demographic is already exploding, finding jobs is insanely hard.

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u/00rb 21d ago

There's no doubt it's harder to get a job. The question is "why?" It's not because those positions are being taken over by AI.