Will AI's job impact be dystopian or optimistic? Maybe both, experts say

Global News

a day ago

'A white collar bloodbath' is how Dario Amodei, CEO of leading artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, recently described the impact of artificial intelligence on the labour market to American news site Axios.
On May 28, he warned that the very technology his company is creating could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within the next five years.
And he's not alone.
Micha Kaufman, CEO of Fiverr, the popular online marketplace for freelance services, shared on social media a company email from April 8 that says: 'AI is coming for your jobs. Heck, it's coming for my job too. This is a wake-up call.'
He goes on to say that this will affect a variety of fields and 'it doesn't matter if you are a programmer, designer, product manager, data scientist, lawyer, customer support rep, salesperson, or a finance person– AI is coming for you.'
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Amodei and Kaufman are among the latest tech CEOs issuing dire warnings about AI's seismic shakeup of the labour market. Anthropic has not returned Global News' request for comment on the matter.
However, many researchers, economists and HR experts are not convinced the new technology will be an immediate job killer. But quantifying its impact on jobs is particularly difficult during this time of heightened economic uncertainty.
So, what does it all mean for you and your job?
2:49
BIV: May jobs numbers
Job search platform Indeed's senior economist Brendon Bernard concedes that 'it's possible that AI is one factor that's held back hiring appetite,' because of a decline in job postings across many sectors.
The latest jobs numbers for Canada were released on Friday and show that Statistics Canada says since January of this year there has been 'virtually no job growth' overall, and a slight uptick in unemployment.
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Bernard said he can understand how that could be a decline in fields with close ties to AI like tech, but it doesn't explain a decrease in ads for job postings within construction, loading and stocking as well as driving.
An overall slowing of economic activity is likely the driving factor behind the current jobs numbers, and more recently, uncertainty caused by U.S. President Donald Trump's erratic on-again-off-again trade and tariff threats.
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem cites this unpredictability and volatility as the single biggest threat to growth across the country. It has caused business and consumer confidence to plunge.
The resulting economic freeze or paralysis is reflected in companies and households postponing big purchases, investments and hiring.
A 'quiet disappearance'
But that doesn't mean that AI isn't removing the need for or cannibalizing some positions, according to scientist Gary Marcus.
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He describes it as 'a quiet disappearance of part of a job' which can add up to the loss of full positions over time.
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Marcus authored the book Taming Silicon Valley: How we can ensure that AI works for us.
He acknowledges that low-skill white collar jobs are most likely to be made redundant by AI, but Marcus takes issue with Amodei's timeframe of one to five years being a major period for job replacement by AI.
'There's a little bit of truth in what he's saying, but there's a lot of exaggeration too,' he says.
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Click to share quote on Twitter: "There's a little bit of truth in what he's saying, but there's a lot of exaggeration too," he says.
'The reality is that entry-level workers probably are the most affected, but most white collar jobs aren't going anywhere that soon.'
Instead, Marcus sees humans using AI as a tool to enhance and speed up their work.
'We will find that humans use machines and do better than machines or humans alone. It's what we call 'augmentation,' but it's not the same as replacing humans,' he says.
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New AI tools are designed to ease everyday financial stress
Consulting giant McKinsey predicts that by 2030, 30 per cent of work in the U.S. could be automated by AI and a 2023 report by Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs suggests that globally, generative AI — which includes chatbots like ChatGPT — could eliminate 300 million jobs.
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A recent example of a strategic shift favouring AI is seen first in a leaked internal memo from Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify, which was later shared on social media by CEO Tobi Lutke in April.
He highlights that 'using AI is now a fundamental expectation of everyone at Shopify.'
The memo also details that 'before asking for more headcount and resources' teams must first 'demonstrate why they can't get what they want done by AI.'
Shopify did not return Global News' request for comment.
Can AI replace more humans?
Gathering data on the rise of AI and the impacts it may have on jobs remains in the early stages, according to most labour market watchers.
Statistics Canada recently explored its impact, concluding that it is 'unclear what the net impact of AI will be on jobs' across the country.
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Experimental estimates by the agency suggest 'higher-skilled jobs may be more exposed to AI-related job transformation than lower-skilled jobs.'
With this disruption comes new opportunity, though, with the national agency's analysts Tahsin Medhi and Marc Frenette positing that 'half of the workers in jobs highly exposed to AI-related transformation may also benefit from it,' provided AI 'complements the work they do' and that they 'have the necessary skills to leverage it.'
'Fifth industrial revolution'?
In October, when asked about the looming changes that AI will bring to the labour force, Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton told Global News it would be tantamount to the disruption seen during the Industrial Revolution.
Hinton, often referred to as the 'godfather of AI' said 'potentially, it's very big. You make it so (that) average human intelligence isn't worth much anymore because AI can do it.'
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Farbod Nassiri, PwC Partner and National Practice Lead in Digital HR Transformation, agrees that AI has already begun a wave of change, and with this 'fifth industrial revolution' comes new openings.
'Every single industrial revolution created more opportunities but these opportunities had to be taken by people that were ready for them,' he says.
The topic is the subject of PwC's latest research which shows job numbers in AI-exposed occupations across Canada have increased by 108 per cent since 2019.
And globally, AI-skilled workers command an average 56 per cent wage premium, which is double last year's premium.
Nassiri says the way we think about jobs of the future should be less about the position and more about the skill set required. With this in mind, his research suggests 'university degrees are becoming less and less important on their own.'
Instead, he suggests micro-credentials, specialized courses or even a combination of degrees tailored to the demands of the job market.
Adaptability and a willingness to let go of perfection to uncover novel solutions are traits that Nassiri says can foster lifelong learning and employees able to pivot with the times.
His advice to job seekers and parents looking to best prepare their children for the looming workforce disruption? Master AI before it masters your job.
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'Curiosity, exploration are more important,' he says.
'We're moving away from purely understanding the theory but also practicing with AI where we can actually augment and enhance everything we do,' says Nassiri.