As artificial intelligence rapidly advances, a growing number of experts agree that it will drastically reshape the labor market, putting virtually the entire human race out of work. But not every profession is doomed.
According to Adam Dorr, director of research at the tech forecast nonprofit RethinkX, the cost of human labor will plummet, triggering widespread displacement and mass unemployment.
But Dorr also believes that while much of humanity’s labor is at risk, a curious collection of jobs is likely to survive — notably sports coaches, politicians, sex workers, plumbers, and ethicists.
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“There will remain a niche for human labor in some domains,” he told The Guardian, although he warned, “there are nowhere near enough of those occupations to employ four billion people.”
Dorr is one of those experts who share a pessimistic view of AI & robotics advancements, fearing that this synergy will make humans obsolete.
For example, Geoffrey Hinton, often dubbed the “godfather of AI,” highlighted that blue-collar jobs like plumbing will likely remain safe, while white-collar roles such as call center agents and paralegals could be wiped out. Ford CEO Jim Farley echoed this sentiment, predicting AI “is going to replace literally half of all white-collar workers in the U.S.”
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Senator Bernie Sanders is also raising concerns about AI’s impact, especially on labor rights. In a recent interview following his meetings with tech gurus, he warned of “massive job losses,” stating, “I happen to believe this is not like the Industrial Revolution… I think this could be a lot more severe.”
He emphasized the risk that workers could lose out on the benefits of rising productivity. “Workers today… are earning less, and I fear very much that almost all the new benefits of worker productivity will go to the people on top at the expense of working people,” Sanders said.
He also echoed broader concerns about AI’s unchecked rise: “There are very, very knowledgeable people… who worry very much that human beings will not be able to control the technology,” Sanders said.
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“That’s kind of the doomsday scenario,” said the senator, whose job – according to Dorr – is among the safest.
In short, as AI threatens millions of jobs, roles requiring human touch, ethics, physical presence, or political leadership are expected to stick around for a while.