Geoffrey Hinton, a Nobel Prize–winning pioneer in neural networks, warned in a December 2025 CNN interview that AI could replace many jobs by 2026, arguing that capabilities are improving rapidly and may soon handle long-term software projects. He criticized some developers for deprioritizing safety in favor of growth. Other experts are divided: RethinkX cautions there may not be enough new human roles for billions of displaced workers, while OpenAI's Sam Altman expects both job losses and new job creation. Researchers at Microsoft and analysts at Yale urge careful interpretation of early patterns and call for policy planning and workforce support.
“Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton Warns Many Jobs Could Be Automated by 2026
A visualization of AI working on a screen. - Summit Art Creations/Shutterstock
The rapid progress of artificial intelligence has captured global attention, and few voices carry as much weight as Geoffrey Hinton's. Often called the “Godfather of AI,” Hinton — a British-born researcher at the University of Toronto — was recognized in 2024 with a Nobel Prize in Physics for “foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.”
In a December 2025 interview with CNN, Hinton issued a blunt warning about the near-term effects of advancing AI systems.
"We're going to see it having the capabilities to replace many, many jobs," Hinton said. "Each seven months or so, it gets to be able to do tasks that are about twice as long."
Hinton used coding as a concrete example: tasks that once took a minute of human work can now be handled by AI as hour-long projects, and he suggested that if the trend continues, "in a few years' time, it'll be able to do software engineering projects that are months long, and then there'll be very few people needed for software engineering projects." He also acknowledged persistent problems with AI-generated code and noted that improvements to those weaknesses could accelerate displacement.
Man on computer uses AI system chatbot - Laurence Dutton/Getty Images
Industry Responses and Diverging Views
Hinton has also criticized how some AI developers approach risk. He told CNN that "initially, OpenAI was very concerned with the risks, but ... progressively moved away from that and put less emphasis on safety and more emphasis on profit."
Other experts offer a range of perspectives. Adam Dorr, director of research at RethinkX, told The Guardian in July 2025 that while human labor will remain necessary in certain niches, "there are nowhere near enough of those occupations to employ 4 billion people." He added a more hopeful note, suggesting that freed time could allow people to pursue more meaningful lives and stronger community ties.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has a different emphasis: in a May 2025 Bloomberg interview he said AI will both eliminate and create jobs, predicting that new roles will emerge as the technology opens up novel possibilities — for example, AI-assisted hardware design.
AI apps together on a smartphone screen - Kenneth Cheung/Getty Images
Research And Context
A Microsoft report published in August 2025 analyzed over 200,000 anonymized Bing Copilot conversations and assigned AI-applicability scores to occupations. The analysis highlighted interpreters and translators, historians, and passenger attendants among roles where AI tools were frequently used, but Microsoft explicitly cautioned against interpreting that list as a direct ranking of automation risk.
Yale Budget Lab executive director Martha Gimbel told the BBC in October 2025 that, despite the heightened attention because "AI" is now in the conversation, much of the disruption seen so far resembles normal hiring and firing patterns tied to economic cycles.
What This Means For Workers And Policymakers
Experts disagree on timing and scale, but many agree that rapidly improving AI capabilities will reshape labor markets. The fact that some capabilities appear to double on a timescale of months, not years, makes timely planning important. Governments, businesses, educators and workers will need to consider training, safety standards, social protections and policies that address displacement and harness AI’s potential to create new opportunities.
Note: This article synthesizes reporting from CNN, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Microsoft Research, and the BBC and summarizes key expert perspectives on how AI may affect jobs through 2026. Read the original report on SlashGear for the published article.
Help us improve.
