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Time of India
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Chilling AI prediction: A Mad Max-like future for jobs may be coming; top economist warns
Chilling AI prediction: A Mad Max-like future for jobs may be coming; top economist warns Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping our world in profound ways—from improving medical diagnostics to powering chatbots and self-driving cars. But not all of its impacts are positive. In a Business Insider interview on the 'Possible' podcast, MIT economist David Autor sounded a serious caution: AI could turn our labour market into something resembling a Mad Max wasteland. While this doesn't mean total job loss, it does mean something equally alarming—the devaluation of once-valuable skills, pushing many into poorly paid work with limited advancement, as reported by Business Insider. This warning comes amid broader studies, such as a Salesforce projection that up to 23% of the workforce could be redeployed due to AI in the next two years (Business Insider, citing Salesforce). The underlying concern is clear: AI may not take jobs outright, but it could severely undermine what makes work valuable. Autor's analogy to Mad Max warns of a world where technology runs rampant and wealth concentrates at the top. Instead of liberation, AI could exacerbate income inequality and leave most people scrambling for low-end service roles. This article explores Autor's caution, what's driving this concern, which sectors are most vulnerable, and why intentional design and workforce planning are critical to avoid an AI-driven dystopia. Why AI may devalue skills, not just eliminate jobs Autor argues that the threat AI poses is more subtle than mass unemployment. Instead of taking jobs, it may strip roles of their expert value, turning once-specialised skills into commodities. How skills become obsolete: Automation of routine tasks : Industries like typing, factory work, and taxi driving saw initial waves of automation. With AI, even roles requiring moderate skill—like legal document review or marketing analysis—are now at risk. Commoditised skills : Resources like touch typing were once prized. Once AI can perform those actions without fatigue or error, such skills lose their edge. 'The threat… is not running out of work, but making the valuable skills that people have highly abundant so they're no longer valuable,' Autor explained. The 'Mad Max' comparison: What it means Autor's bleak vision is inspired by the Mad Max universe—a world marked by scarcity, brutal competition, and centralised power. He sees an economic parallel: AI empowers a few, while the majority struggle. Concentrated gains : Wealth and influence accrue to companies and individuals who own AI systems. Downshifted labour : Workers may be forced into low-paying, low-skill roles like cleaning, food delivery, and basic services. Wage pressure : With AI handling high-value tasks, remaining jobs lose bargaining power and income potential. How many people could be affected? A Salesforce study cited by Business Insider estimates that 23% of the global workforce may be redeployed in the next two years due to increased AI adoption. This includes changes in roles, responsibilities, or sectors. While not everyone will lose their job, many may find themselves working in different, less lucrative positions—a dangerous shift that Autor warns could erode societal well-being if not managed. Sectors at risk and which might survive Most at risk Administrative and clerical roles: Invoice processing, scheduling, data entry. Transport and logistics: AI-driven navigation, sorting, and delivery systems. Retail and service: AI-operated ordering kiosks, stock management. More resilient areas Healthcare : Physicians and nurses require empathy, human judgment, and trust. Education : Teaching, mentoring, and social-emotional learning. Creative fields : Art, film, and design rely on originality and human creativity. Complex caretaking : Therapy, social services, and community-based support. Autor emphasises these roles as critical to ensuring AI serves humans, not the other way around. What Autor says should be done Autor recognises the potential for AI to enhance human capabilities—but only if implemented thoughtfully. He urges: Design with purpose : Choose paths where AI complements human efforts, especially in healthcare, education, and social care. Policy foresight : Governments and regulators must steer AI development to avoid creating 'resource wars' over remaining low-skill jobs. Investment in people : Focus on helping workers transition—not just with new skills but also with basic income support and social protections. 'The future is not a forecasting exercise—it's a design exercise,' Autor said, as reported in Business Insider. He insists the AI future must be built deliberately, not left to chance. Also read | Sam Altman's AI warning: Millions of jobs are at risk—here's why AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
NDTV
05-07-2025
- Business
- NDTV
AI To Create Mad Max-Like Future? Top Economist's Chilling Prediction
MIT economist David Autor has warned that rapid automation caused by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to a Mad Max scenario where jobs may still exist, but the skills that once generated wages would become less valuable, making the paychecks smaller and existence difficult. "The more likely scenario to me looks much more like Mad Max: Fury Road, where everybody is competing over a few remaining resources that aren't controlled by some warlord somewhere," Mr Autor said on the Possible podcast, hosted by LinkedIn cofounder Reed Hoffman. The reference by Mr Autor is from the 2015 movie by George Miller, set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where scarcity and inequality prevail while a tyrant rules over the hapless population. Mr Autor believes that AI could concentrate the wealth in the hands of people at the top while the workers fight for morsels. "The threat that rapid automation poses - to the degree it poses as a threat - is not running out of work, but making the valuable skills that people have highly abundant so they're no longer valuable," he said, adding that roles like typists, factory technicians, and even taxi driver might be replaced. AI to take away jobs Mr Autor is not the only one warning about a dystopian AI future. In May, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that AI could soon wipe out 50 per cent of entry-level white-collar jobs within the next five years. He added that governments across the world were downplaying the threat when AI's rising use could lead to a significant spike in unemployment numbers. "We, as the producers of this technology, have a duty and an obligation to be honest about what is coming. I don't think this is on people's radar," said Mr Amodei. According to the Anthropic boss, unemployment could increase by 10 per cent to 20 per cent over the next five years, with most of the people 'unaware' about what was coming. "Most of them are unaware that this is about to happen. It sounds crazy, and people just don't believe it," he said. "It's a very strange set of dynamics where we're saying: 'You should be worried about where the technology we're building is going.'"
Business Insider
03-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
AI could create a 'Mad Max' scenario where everyone's skills are basically worthless, a top economist says
As AI reshapes the labor market, the real threat may not be unemployment — it could be something subtler and more corrosive: the collapse in what skills are worth. That's according to MIT economist David Autor, who made the comments in an interview released Wednesday on the "Possible" podcast, hosted by LinkedIn cofounder Reed Hoffman. Autor warned that rapid automation could usher in what he calls a "Mad Max" scenario — a world where jobs still exist, but the skills that once generated wages become cheap and commoditized. "The more likely scenario to me looks much more like Mad Max: Fury Road, where everybody is competing over a few remaining resources that aren't controlled by some warlord somewhere," he said. The reference, drawn from the dystopian film series set in a post-collapse world of scarcity and inequality, captures Autor's fear that AI could concentrate wealth and power at the top while leaving most workers to fight over what's left. While several economists and some tech CEOs worry AI could displace millions of workers, Autor argued that the damage may play out differently, through the devaluation of once-valuable skills. "The threat that rapid automation poses — to the degree it poses as a threat — is not running out of work, but making the valuable skills that people have highly abundant so they're no longer valuable," he said. He pointed to roles like touch typists, factory technicians, and even taxi drivers as examples — all skilled, well-paying jobs that technology has downgraded or, in some cases, replaced. "It used to be that touch typing was a very valuable skill. Not so much anymore," he said. This doesn't mean people will be unemployed, he added. Instead, many are likely to shift into lower-paid service jobs — in food service, cleaning, security — that require little training and offer minimal pay. "Automation can either increase the expertise of your work by eliminating the supporting tasks and allowing you to focus on what you're really good at," he said. "Or, it can descale your work by automating the expert parts and just leaving you with a sort of last mile." Autor's concern is increasingly reflected in the corporate world. A May Salesforce study projected that 23% of workers will be redeployed over the next two years as AI adoption surges, and even employees who stay in their current roles will see them evolve. Tech executives, meanwhile, are placing a growing premium on adaptability, creativity, and the ability to work with AI tools, not just technical specialization. To avoid a future where technology widens inequality, Autor said we must intentionally design AI to support workers. "As my friend Josh Cohen, a philosopher, likes to say, 'The future is not a forecasting exercise — it's a design exercise, you're building it.'" "And so, breaking our way is not just a matter of luck. It's a matter of making good collective choices, and that's extremely hard to do." For Autor, the best place to start is by focusing AI where it can do the most good: expanding access to healthcare, education, and meaningful work. "Healthcare and education — two activities that in the United States has 20% GDP, a lot of it public money, actually — this is where there's such a great opportunity where AI could be a tool that could be so helpful to us in a way that other tools have not been." "Many of these things are feasible," he continued. "If we think we're not going to do them, it's not because we couldn't do them. It's because we're somehow not delivering on what is feasible."
Scotsman
11-06-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Scotland can be an innovation nation again - here's how
PA This is a chance to write a new chapter—not by erasing the past, but by building on it Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Scotland has led the world before, and it can lead again. Scotland has more world- class universities per head than innovation powerhouses like Switzerland or Singapore. It's the only part of the UK where high-potential firms are more likely than their London peers to secure early-stage investment. And half of the UK's most active angel investor networks are based here. Thanks to decades of effort by businesses, universities, and public agencies, Scotland may be the best place in the UK to start an innovative firm. Mission accomplished, you might think. Wait a while, and the jobs, industries, and incomes will follow. That's how growth has happened before. As the economist David Autor has shown, the jobs most of us do today didn't even exist in 1940. Out with the miners, in with the solar engineers and wedding planners. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But there's nothing automatic about translating headline innovation into broad-based prosperity. Too many Scottish firms, once they reach a certain scale, find they must either sell or relocate elsewhere in the UK or to the US to grow. Dundee University spin-out Exscientia—a global leader in AI drug discovery—moved to Oxford to become Scotland's first biotech 'unicorn'. The bigger problem is structural. Scotland has one of the most lopsided innovation economies in the world. It ranks second globally for university R&D as a share of GDP, yet sits mid-table on private sector R&D. For every pound of public research spending in Scotland, just £1.46 is matched by private investment—half the UK average, and a third of the OECD rate. It doesn't have to be this way. In a new report, Innovation Nation, published last week by Our Scottish Future, I set out a five-point plan to raise private innovation and ensure Scotland's ideas scale at home. I begin with a call for a single plan, shared between the Scottish Government, UK Government and local leadership. There is no 'silver bullet' for policymakers; success will require the careful coordination of reserved and devolved policy levers, as well as local consent and support. That shared set of priorities is far from Scotland's current reality: a spaghetti junction of competing Scottish and UK institutions, impossible for business to navigate and – taken together – less than the sum of its parts. Dan Turner | Dan Turner But a plan for what? Scotland's most pressing problem is not an absence of talent, infrastructure and access to capital. It's that – with a few notable exceptions – it lacks what economists call 'clusters' of similar businesses, all of whom become more productive because they can draw on a shared pool of expertise, workers, supply chains and specialist infrastructure such as lab space or testing facilities. As well as being good for individual firms, these clusters are good for communities: they give firms a strong reason to stay put and invest, rather than relocate elsewhere. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad My second recommendation is for tax and planning reform, capital spending, and political leadership to create five 'Growth Zones'. These would be small campuses, putting major research facilities, indigenous start-ups, and multinational enterprises side-by-side. Scotland already has the first two; the Scottish and UK governments will have to negotiate the third, while local leaders do the hard work of assembling the land, finding the funders, builders and tenants, and creating new economic hubs. To do that, local leaders will need more power, status and – correspondingly – accountability. Following earlier Our Scottish Future work, I call for Scottish Combined Authorities, based on the successful model of Manchester, to cover Scotland's major urban areas. As well as being responsible for the Growth Zones, these Scottish Combined Authorities should play a lead role in connecting the engines of the innovation economy into wider social and economic life on their patch. If we don't make an intentional effort, overreliance on innovation-led growth can make inequalities worse. And that's not just inequitable: it's inefficient. Researchers at Harvard and MIT have shown that we could raise patenting levels fourfold if we could bring talented youths from communities typically left behind by innovation into the labs and research centres. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And last but not least, any shift in efforts towards building up Scotland's clusters can't come at the cost of stopping – or worse, reversing – support for the universities and early stage investors that currently speaks so much to Scotland's credit. The risk, in Holyrood and Westminster, is that we cut back on innovation funding and cut ourselves off to global talent. Scotland cannot afford to kill its golden goose. The work we do shapes how we see ourselves and the places we live. Scotland's identity is still deeply tied to its industrial heyday—shipbuilding on the Clyde, coal and oil from Fife and Aberdeenshire, medical breakthroughs from Edinburgh. But there is no reason the 21st century can't belong to Scotland too. Indeed, we can see its outline already. Glasgow's former workshops now house Europe's largest satellite cluster and cutting-edge life sciences. Edinburgh's fintech firms are reimagining payment and exchange. Dundee has shifted from jute to gaming and advanced therapeutics. Aberdeen is preparing for its second great energy transition, leading on hydrogen and offshore renewables. This is a chance to write a new chapter—not by erasing the past, but by building on it. Scotland's future industries can honour its industrial legacy: drawing on the same places, the same skills, the same deep pride in work. But to get there, we need to do something new: create jobs in the innovation economy, at every skill level, across the country. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad That is the challenge and the opportunity. To remake Scotland's innovative legacy —not as a monument to past glory, but as a home for modern, inclusive, enduring industry. That's what it means to become an innovation nation.
South China Morning Post
04-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Sorry, but the ‘China shock' was actually pretty good for America
The idea that China has stolen millions of American jobs in recent decades, causing a collapse in the manufacturing labour market, has long been a staple anti-Chinese narrative on both sides of US politics. Even economists and media pundits who grudgingly acknowledge that cheap Chinese goods have made life easier and more affordable for the average American would complain about these alleged mass job losses. And the blue-collar voters most severely affected by sectoral lay-offs and the decline in regional manufacturing make up a fair segment of Donald Trump 's Maga – 'Make America Great Again' – movement. But is this so-called China shock actually real? 09:42 Trump promises to bring US manufacturing back from China, but will his tariffs work? Trump promises to bring US manufacturing back from China, but will his tariffs work? Among the most influential research defending the 'China shock' claim is a series of papers by David Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, David Dorn of the University of Zurich, and Gordon Hanson of the Harvard Kennedy School – especially their 2016 paper 'The China Shock: Learning from Labour Market Adjustment to Large Changes in Trade'.
