Every week seems to bring a fresh round of AI-driven layoffs. In May, Microsoft said goodbye to over 6,000 software engineers as it doubled down on AI for code generation and development. That same month, IBM trimmed its HR department by thousands. Back in February, Meta axed 3,600 workers, roughly 5% of its workforce, while restructuring for an AI-first future. These layoffs are not a fluke; they signal a seismic shift in the global economy.
Last week, unemployment filings soared to their highest level since last fall, with companies from Procter & Gamble to Starbucks planning massive layoffs. While it’s unclear how much of this is linked to Trump’s trade war, the rise of AI-driven automation is definitely a big factor in the layoffs of repetitive jobs.
Welcome to the downside of the AI Age: economic displacement. If it seems bad now, just wait until we hit artificial general intelligence (AGI). When that happens, AI will be able to understand, learn, and apply knowledge across a wide range of tasks, just like a human. AGI will be capable of reasoning, problem-solving, and adapting to new situations, all without needing to be reprogrammed.
Though many experts believe AGI is still decades away, a growing number of voices say we might see it within the next five years.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, made headlines last week by predicting AGI could emerge in the next two to three years. Daniel Kokotajlo, a former OpenAI researcher who quit due to safety concerns, released a report in May warning AGI could be here by late 2027. And futurist Ray Kurzweil, Google’s director of engineering, has predicted AGI will arrive by 2029, reaffirming his stance last year in his book The Singularity is Nearer.
“We’re on track to human-level AGI by 2029,” said, Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET, a decentralized AI platform. And once we hit human-level AGI? Goertzel and others predict superintelligence could follow just a few years later. According to Goertzel, a human-level AGI will be able to create new chips, networks, and even program itself.
And after that? Well, the leap to superintelligence might be quick, possibly just a few years. Superintelligent AI could eventually displace not just entry-level workers, but doctors, lawyers, scientists, and even the entrepreneurs profiting from AI today. AGI will shake things up enough, but superintelligence could completely unravel the traditional employment landscape.
We’re nowhere near ready for that.
Artificial general intelligence will go far beyond automating routine tasks. With the ability to reason, adapt, and outperform humans across almost every field, we’ll see massive unemployment once AGI becomes even slightly smarter than humans. Ben Goertzel predicts that it might start with junior white-collar jobs, but it won’t take long before it hits all job sectors, from plumbers to janitors.
Goertzel points out that AI already outperforms doctors in diagnostic accuracy, but industries like healthcare have resisted automation due to regulations and institutional power.
“Entry-level jobs don’t have powerful people defending them,” he said. “Older people in higher positions can protect their own jobs, and they control how AI is rolled out, so they’re not going to replace themselves with AI.”
Despite AI’s dominance in software, blue-collar jobs have been less affected because the physical hardware is still catching up. But make no mistake: AI in software has been wiping out white-collar jobs first.
Half of Entry-Level White-Collar Jobs Could Disappear
In an eye-opening interview, Amodei warned that the AI disruption isn’t something decades away; it’s already happening and will ramp up fast. His estimate? Up to 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs could vanish within one to five years. These include positions in law, finance, consulting, marketing, and tech jobs that once offered a reliable entry into professional careers.
With AI tools taking over tasks like analysis, writing, and decision-making, many human roles are becoming obsolete. And according to Amodei, the shift will happen so quickly that society won’t be able to adjust in time. “
The AI boom is faster, broader, and more massive than anything we’ve seen before,” he said. “People will adapt, but not fast enough.”
White-Collar Jobs Already Under Threat
If your job involves working behind a screen, you’re already in the AI crosshairs.
“The jobs most exposed to AI are those requiring higher education, paying more, and involving cognitive tasks,” said Tobias Sytsma, economist at Rand Corporation. “Historically, this type of exposure has correlated with layoffs.”
In fact, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in April 2025 revealed that computer engineers have double the unemployment rate of art history majors—3% vs. 7.5%, respectively.
Goertzel believes most jobs can be automated before we even reach full AGI. “Most work is repetitive and based on prior examples, which AI handles well,” he said. “But jobs requiring big, creative leaps are harder to replace.”
Superintelligence could even replace political leaders, according to Goertzel.
“The presidency could be automated,” he mused, “but political norms prevent that—for now.”
Whether AI brings us a post-work utopia or a dystopia of inequality, one thing is clear: if you think AI is coming for blue-collar jobs first, you’re already behind. It’s coming to your desk next. And it’s not waiting.
Kristian Koch
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