① In the industry, there is " artificial intelligence" Computer scientist Jeffrey Hinton, known as the "Godfather," warned that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace many jobs by 2026, leading to a new wave of unemployment; Hinton stated that the advancement of AI is increasingly jeopardizing some white-collar jobs, with its capacity to perform tasks roughly doubling every seven months.
Geoffrey Hinton, a computer scientist known as the "godfather of artificial intelligence" in the industry, has recently warned that artificial intelligence (AI) will replace many jobs by 2026, leading to a new wave of unemployment.
Just this past weekend, Nobel laureate, former Google executive, and founder of deep learning, Geoffrey Hinton, said in a recent interview: " By 2026, artificial intelligence will be able to replace many, many jobs. We will see artificial intelligence become better. It is already very good."
“It has already been able to replace call center jobs, but it will be able to replace many other jobs,” he added.
Hinton further pointed out that advancements in artificial intelligence are increasingly jeopardizing some white-collar jobs.
“Every seven months or so, the amount of work it (artificial intelligence) can do roughly double,” he said, adding that artificial intelligence has evolved from “a minute of coding work” to “completing an entire project in an hour.”
“In a few years, it will be able to complete software engineering projects that take months to complete, and by then it will hardly need any people,” he said.
Hinton draws parallels between the transformative power of artificial intelligence and the Industrial Revolution, which rendered human physical labor less important in most jobs. He suggests that AI could potentially have a similar impact on human intelligence.
Hinton also said he was “more worried” about artificial intelligence because it was developing faster than he had expected, especially in terms of its ability to reason and deceive humans.
“If it thinks you want to get rid of it, it will devise a plan to deceive you so that you won’t get rid of it,” he added.
"2026 Unemployment Wave"
In fact, many economists predict a “boom in unemployment” in 2026 as businesses rely on artificial intelligence to improve productivity without increasing the number of employees.
"Economic growth and labor market outcomes have become decoupled," KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk wrote last week. She pointed out that in the age of artificial intelligence, companies are doing more with fewer workers.
“During the hiring frenzy, many companies were overstaffed, and now they are adjusting their staffing levels to better meet demand through natural attrition or layoffs,” he added.
However, it is also worth noting that artificial intelligence may increase hiring in 2026, especially for entry-level positions.
In its annual outlook survey released this month, consulting firm Teneo found that 67% of CEOs surveyed expect artificial intelligence to drive hiring for “entry-level positions” by 2026. Another 58% said they plan to increase hiring for senior leadership positions.
The report states that companies are increasing their hiring efforts for engineering and AI-related positions, while many existing positions are being redesigned as routine tasks are automated.
Ryan Cox, Teneo's global head of artificial intelligence, said: "Artificial intelligence is not eliminating today's workforce, but reshaping it."
(Article source: CLS)
