AI was supposed to destroy jobs. Where’s the carnage?

The prediction was stark: artificial intelligence advancements would wipe out jobs en masse. A month later, OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, went further, foreseeing the end of “certain job categories”.

Companies began citing AI in their layoffs. And students reconsidered their future careers.

What Happened

Even as AI capabilities have rapidly advanced and AI companies have hurtled towards trillion-dollar stock market debuts, economic transformation hasn’t kept pace, similar to previous tech revolutions, economists say. As a result, CEOs are reframing and softening their stances, suggesting AI augments.

• “Half” of all entry-level white collar jobs would vanish, Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, said in May 2025.

• About 74% of employers consider AI skills a strong advantage or requirement, with 13% requiring them company-wide versus just in technical roles, according to ZipRecruiter’s latest employer survey.

• About 35% of the US workforce is already considered easily replaceable, according to his research.

Key Details

Despite the lack of mass job devastation, a shift is still under way: AI is changing the nature of work, with employers increasingly expecting job seekers to have AI skills. And over the long term, AI could shift more jobs to freelance.

• But not all jobs are in the same boat, and neither are their options for adapting, said MIT’s Osterman.

• It’ll likely take years for the full effects of AI on the economy to show up, Stanford’s Bloom said.

• AI changes the kind of work people do as well as job quality, he said.

Why It Matters

But accurately measuring AI’s impact on employment is a challenge. Government statistics are dated by nature and don’t track the impact of specific technologies, while private industry figures, though more current, are less comprehensive.

• As a result, more workers are trying to negotiate AI use in their collective bargaining agreements, said Tim Newman, senior vice-president of labor programs at the non-profit TechEquity.

• This means more workers will be left without a career ladder.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by The Guardian as more details emerge