Jan 24, 2026 — The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, was largely dominated by discussions surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). Attendees, ranging from medical device manufacturers to bankers and tech executives, centered their conversations around AI’s implications for the global economy and labor market.
While the transformative potential of AI was a recurring theme, the most pressing discussions revolved around its potential to disrupt the labor market. BlackRock CEO and interim co-chair of the World Economic Forum, Larry Fink, highlighted the risks of job losses during a dialogue with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Meanwhile, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon stressed the need for proactive government interventions to mitigate mass layoffs driven by AI innovations.
Dimon warned that if self-driving trucks were to replace an estimated 2 million truckers in the U.S. overnight, it could lead to significant societal unrest. “How do you have plans in place to make it work better if in fact [AI] does something terrible?” he questioned.
Concerns regarding AI-induced layoffs have been mounting for years. However, as generative AI evolves, alarm over its implications for the workforce is intensifying. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei indicated that the tech industry is “six to 12 months” away from an AI model capable of performing most, if not all, functions typically associated with a software engineer. Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis concurred, predicting that AI will start affecting internships and entry-level positions this year.
Fink also expressed worries about AI replacing human analysts in legal and financial sectors, echoing the growing unease about the fate of jobs across various economic sectors.
Providing a stark assessment, Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), indicated that AI would impact an average of 40% of jobs, either enhancing, eliminating, or significantly altering them without necessarily resulting in increased wages. Georgieva referred to the advancement of AI as a “tsunami” poised to hit the labor market. “Even in the best-prepared countries, I don’t think we are prepared enough,” she added.
Amid the widespread anxiety about job losses, the forum also featured discussions on AI’s potential to create jobs in new sectors, reflecting a nuanced view of the technology’s role in the future economy.
The conversations at Davos signal a pivotal moment for policymakers and industry leaders, as they grapple with the dual-edged sword of AI’s benefits and risks. As the technology advances, a coordinated approach may be necessary to ensure that the transformation of the labor market benefits both businesses and workers alike.
For more information, visit BlackRock, Nvidia, JPMorgan, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind.
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