Will AI Destroy Jobs or Create New Ones? Top Tech and Business Leaders Debate the Future of Work

Tech and business leaders remain sharply divided over whether artificial intelligence will mostly eliminate jobs or create new roles that ease the transition. Opinions range from warnings of rapid, large-scale displacement to arguments that AI will reallocate work and boost productivity. Below are distilled perspectives from prominent figures shaping the conversation.

Dario Amodei

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that AI could eliminate up to 50% of entry-level white-collar positions within five years. He emphasizes that the speed of AI progress and adoption makes precise timing uncertain, but believes the risk is significant enough to warrant public warning.

“The first step towards solving these problems is kind of being honest with the population that these problems exist,” Amodei has said, noting that today's AI capabilities are only a snapshot of a rapidly evolving trajectory.

Elon Musk

Elon Musk uses vivid metaphors to describe AI’s impact, calling it a “supersonic tsunami” that will reshape the labor market. He predicts strong overall demand for work but not necessarily for the same types of jobs, saying physical labor will persist longer while many desk-based, digital roles could be automated quickly.

Jensen Huang

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang rejects alarmist takes and stresses that adoption matters. He argues that companies that embrace AI and robotics first will likely grow and hire, and that many people will lose jobs not to machines themselves but to peers who leverage AI tools more effectively.

Jamie Dimon

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon predicts that AI could shorten the workweek in developed economies to about three and a half days over decades. He also warns that policymakers and companies must prepare now with retraining, income support and relocation programs to manage displacement.

Sam Altman

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledges that AI will “change a lot of jobs,” eliminating some while creating many new ones. He has noted that AI agents are already functioning like junior employees in some settings and that humanoid robots—while not yet widespread—could produce a strikingly sci-fi shift in everyday life.

Jim Farley

Ford CEO Jim Farley has echoed concerns about large-scale white-collar displacement and suggested that the U.S. education system should emphasize vocational and technical skills, not just four-year degrees.

Andy Jassy

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says generative AI and agents are already changing workflows. He expects fewer people will be needed for some current roles while demand will grow for different skill sets and job types.

Yann LeCun

Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun takes a more optimistic tone, arguing that humans will remain in control of AI systems and that society can steer how much and which tasks are automated.

Mustafa Suleyman

Microsoft AI lead Mustafa Suleyman emphasizes timing as the key question—whether disruption occurs over a decade or several decades—but says the direction is clear. He suggests AI could free people from repetitive or unpleasant work and allow more time for creative pursuits.

Demis Hassabis

DeepMind cofounder Demis Hassabis expects AI to create “very valuable jobs” and to supercharge technically skilled workers. He advises young people to continue studying STEM fundamentals to understand how these systems are built and applied.

Geoffrey Hinton

Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneering researcher in AI, warns that routine intellectual labor is especially vulnerable and that workers will need high skill levels to remain resilient. He notes that jobs requiring physical manipulation are likely to be safer for longer.

Brad Lightcap

OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap calls for an evidence-based perspective and reminds readers that every major technological platform shift changes labor markets. He compares past transformations—such as the decline of agricultural employment—to current structural shifts driven by software and AI.

Eric Yuan

Zoom founder Eric Yuan argues AI could enable shorter, more flexible workweeks—such as three- or four-day schedules—while creating new roles for managing AI-generated code and digital agents.

Aravind Srinivas

Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas expects a transitional phase of displacement followed by entrepreneurship and retraining that absorb displaced workers. He urges more founders and training programs to turn disruption into new company formation and job creation.

Across these perspectives, leaders disagree on timing and scale but frequently agree on one point: some jobs will disappear, others will be transformed, and proactive policy choices—retraining, safety nets, and supportive adoption strategies—will determine whether the transition is chaotic or broadly beneficial.