Will AI cause significant job losses?

The short answer: yes in the near term, not necessarily in the long term. AI will cut the time needed for many repeatable tasks, but history suggests new categories of work usually emerge as technology lowers costs and expands demand.

The view in brief

New technologies usually create short-term disruption before settling into a new equilibrium, often with higher overall employment. The hard part is the transition: new roles appear over time, not overnight, and workers have to retrain while organisations rethink how work gets done.

AI will clearly reshape white-collar work. Tasks that once took days can now be completed in minutes, so fewer people may be needed for the same output, especially in repeatable processes. But roles also evolve. Before Google, SEO agencies did not exist. Today, many are shifting again toward Generative Engine Optimisation and AI-assisted services.

There is also a case for longer-term optimism. Jevons' Paradox suggests that when the cost of a service falls, demand often rises. If software becomes cheaper to build, we may ultimately see more applications - and potentially more developers.