The expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) is leading companies to hire specialized workers to train models while economists and researchers analyze potential large-scale changes to the labor market. Companies such as Mercor have recruited more than 100,000 freelancers across industries like finance and poetry to refine AI models like ChatGPT and Claude. While some participants view the technology as a tool for optimization, a September report from the McKinsey Global Institute suggests AI could transition 11 million U.S. workers into new careers by 2035.
Economists and tech executives report divergent views on the pace of this transition. Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu stated that while the Industrial Revolution occurred over 80 years, the current AI transition is happening within one to two years across multiple sectors. Acemoglu noted that although AI training creates new roles, the number of these positions is small compared to the number of workers who may be replaced. Conversely, Mercor CEO Brendan Foody described the shift as a "natural evolution" that could remove repetitive tasks from human workloads.
Specific industries are already integrating these tools into daily operations. The law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease worked with Stanford University’s Liftlab to create AI personas based on the expertise of senior partners to provide feedback on legal documents. In the tech sector, Clara Shih, a former executive at Salesforce and Meta, reported that tasks previously requiring dozens of employees to prototype and deliver products can now be completed by a few people using AI agents. Research from the U.S. Census and Stanford indicates that hiring and wages for recent college graduates in AI-exposed fields, such as software development, have already seen declines.
The scale of economic impact is projected to be significant, with McKinsey Global Institute estimating that AI could add $13 trillion to global economic activity by 2030, representing a 1.2% increase in annual GDP growth. However, this growth is tied to the substitution of labor. An MIT and Boston University report predicts AI will replace two million manufacturing workers by 2026. Workers in customer service, accounting, and insurance underwriting may see a reduction in available human-staffed positions as companies favor automated responses and cloud-based algorithmic bookkeeping.
To mitigate potential mass unemployment, which Acemoglu warned could triple in a worst-case scenario over the next decade, experts have proposed several policy and design interventions. These include government implementation of tax codes that incentivize hiring humans over machines and the intentional design of AI to complement rather than replace human labor. For workers, the next steps involve acquiring technical and soft skills to pivot into AI-focused roles. While a Pew Research study found that nearly three-fourths of Americans fear job loss due to AI, the McKinsey report estimates that by 2030, 70% of companies will have adopted at least one type of AI technology.