Will AI replace human workers?

Is AI coming for your job or … not? On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer takes a look at whether the AI jobs apocalypse is truly upon us and the future of the global labor market. Plenty of companies have announced mass layoffs recently—Target, UPS, Microsoft, and IBM have all cut thousands of jobs. And many are pointing to ‘AI efficiency’ as the reason. But, so far, the data doesn’t show that AI is causing mass unemployment. Yes, certain sectors are getting squeezed by AI (entry-level coders, for example) but other factors, like tariffs, inflation, and US monetary tightening are also having a direct impact.

But that doesn’t mean AI won’t bring big changes. AI adoption is happening faster than any technology in human history. Faster than the internet, faster than electricity. And that speed means turbulence. AI could turbocharge productivity, create new industries, and help developing countries leapfrog stages of development. But it could also eliminate whole swaths of workers or widen income inequality between countries. What happens next depends less on the tech, and more on what governments and companies decide to do with it.