Dario Amodei, CEO of AI company Anthropic, warned that generative artificial intelligence could drive U.S. unemployment to 20% within the next five years, urging policymakers to prepare for large-scale disruption.
“AI is getting better than humans at almost all intellectual tasks,” Amodei told CNN. He estimates that half of all entry-level white-collar jobs could be eliminated as AI advances, leading to a spike in joblessness not seen since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While concerns about AI-driven job loss are not new, Amodei’s warning stands out due to his leadership role in one of the industry’s top labs. Anthropic recently unveiled an AI model capable of working nearly seven hours independently, positioning the technology as both a productivity tool and potential job replacement.
He noted that about 40% of users currently deploy Anthropic’s models to automate rather than augment human work — a number that is growing.
The shift challenges the traditional belief that tech mostly disrupts low-skilled jobs. Instead, Amodei suggests AI may replace skilled white-collar roles, making retraining difficult. He even floated the idea of taxing AI companies to distribute wealth more equitably.
“This change looks faster and harder to adapt to,” he said. “It’s broader. The pace keeps catching people off guard.”
A World Economic Forum survey this year found that 41% of companies globally expect to reduce staff by 2030 due to AI. Industry leaders, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, have also predicted AI will handle a significant share of coding work within a year.
Despite the risks, Amodei emphasized AI’s potential benefits, such as curing diseases, and said his intention is to raise awareness, not halt progress. “I don’t think we can stop this bus,” he said. “But maybe we can steer it in a safer direction.”
