Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says AI could lead to job losses ‘if the world runs out of ideas’

The chief executive of the world’s leading chipmaker warned that while artificial intelligence will significantly boost workplace productivity, it could lead to job loss if industries lack innovation.

The chief executive of the world’s leading chipmaker warned that while artificial intelligence will significantly boost workplace productivity, it could lead to job loss if industries lack innovation. “If the world runs out of ideas, then productivity gains translates to job loss,” said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria when asked about comments made by fellow tech leader Dario Amodei, who suggested AI will cause mass employment disruptions. Amodei, the head of Anthropic, warned last month that the technology could cause a dramatic spike in unemployment in the very near future. He told Axios that AI could eliminate half of entry-level, white-collar jobs and spike unemployment to as much as 20% in the next five years. Huang believes that as long as companies come up with fresh ideas, there’s room for productivity and employment to thrive. But without new ambitions, “productivity drives down,” he said, potentially resulting in fewer jobs. “The fundamental thing is this, do we have more ideas left in society? And if we do, if we’re more productive, we’ll be able to grow,” he said. The increase in AI investments, which fueled a massive technology boom in recent years, has raised concerns about whether the technology will threaten jobs in the future. Roughly 41% of chief executives have said AI will reduce the number of workers at thousands of companies over the next five years, according to a 2024 survey from staffing firm Adecco Group. A survey released in January from the World Economic Forum showed 41% of employers plan to downsize their workforce by 2030 because of AI automation.