White House AI czar downplays AI’s impact on employment

“I think it’s actually very hard to replace a human job entirely. I think it’s easier to replace pieces of it.”

He made the remarks amid previous research that warned employers may reduce their headcount as a result of AI adoption. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei also told Axios that AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs, as well as increase unemployment by up to 20% in the next one to five years.

“I don’t think we’re going to have 20% unemployment,” Sacks said.

The White House AI czar also called out contradictions in what he called the “doomer cult” regarding AI’s impact on GDP growth rate.

“It seems to me that if you believe this is a profound technology then you know it should have a big impact on GDP as well,” he said. “I want to be realistic about this, I could see AI driving our growth rate to something like four or five per cent.”