One of the latest developments is that AI is already writing 30% of the code at Microsoft and Google (see news). This should, in theory, correlate with fewer hires of software developers at these companies. However, that is not the case.
Why? Because AI is also creating new jobs and increasing the demand for expertise. Until companies are forced to reduce hiring or start laying off workers, their growth will continue. Even though AI has already taken over some important tasks, we are still in a growth phase where every person counts, and there’s an increasing need for experts with AI knowledge.
It seems we are in the midst of an intense race: companies are seeking more skilled workers, either through hiring or training. Eventually, some companies will fall behind because they are not competitive enough. Later, companies will also begin to determine how many workers are no longer needed.
Both scenarios will unfold in the future. But that doesn’t mean we are heading toward an apocalyptic scenario where AI takes over all jobs and people are left with nothing to do. The more likely outcome is that this transitional race will take several years, and in the short term, it will create more jobs.
Of course, there are already examples in certain areas where AI is actively eliminating jobs. This brings up two different topics: specialized jobs (which I referred to earlier) and simpler, routine jobs. In the case of these simpler roles, the discussion becomes much more complex.
Here are some recent reports on how AI is affecting the type of simplier jobs:
- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/07/amazon-makes-fundamental-leap-forward-in-robotics-with-device-having-sense-of-touch
- https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/the-gr-ai-m-reaper-hundreds-of-jobs-at-ibm-and-crowdstrike-vanish-as-artificial-intelligence-makes-humans-more-dispensable
- https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/02/wikipedia-downgrades-cnets-reliability-rating-after-ai-generated-articles/
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/ibm-ceo-says-ai-has-replaced-hundreds-of-workers-but-created-new-programming-sales-jobs-54ea6b58
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