It was so over. Remember? As soon as artificial intelligence began to read, write and code, all manner of professions were supposed to automate — fast. Lawyers were toast. Entry-level engineers commodified. And journalists, well, it’s a small miracle we’re writing this story.
And yet, eight months after the release of ChatGPT — and several years since the advent of other AI business tools — the fallout’s been muted. AI is being widely adopted, but the imagined mass firings haven’t materialized. The United States is still effectively at full employment, with just 3.5% of the workforce unemployed.
The usual narrative may say otherwise, but the path toward AI-driven mass unemployment isn’t simple.