Goldman Sachs CEO refutes AI "job apocalypse" theory, stating AI will boost productivity and create new jobs

Gold.com reported that on May 26, Goldman Sachs CEO Solomon commented in a New York Times op-ed, saying that fears of “job apocalypse and mass unemployment” caused by AI have been exaggerated. Solomon believes that AI will not wipe out jobs on a catastrophic scale; instead, it will boost labor productivity, shift employees to higher value-added tasks, and create new roles around managing, deploying, validating, and regulating AI systems. However, he also admits that the labor market will face disruption, but notes that the U.S. economy has already experienced similar situations multiple times in the past and has successfully absorbed technological shocks, with overall employment and living standards continuing to rise.

AI is likely to repeat the path of previous technological changes—eliminating some jobs while expanding others. For example, just this year alone, mega-scale cloud service companies plan to invest $700 billion in capital expenditures, which has already driven a surge in construction industry jobs. Solomon cited forecasts from Goldman Sachs economists that in the next decade, AI may automate 25% of current working hours, with the biggest impact likely to be on white-collar industries such as banking, law, accounting, software development, and customer service.