Jensen Huang says AI isn’t likely to cause mass layoffs unless ‘the world runs out of ideas’

As CEO of Nvidia, the chipmaker now worth $4 trillion, Huang has a unique insight on the acceleration of AI adoption, and most of what he sees is positive. While some AI critics have warned the technology will lead to mass layoffs, Huang said it’s not likely.

“If the world runs out of ideas, then productivity gains translates to job loss,” Huang told CNN.

Just take a look at history: over the hundreds of years past as technology advanced, productivity gains went hand-in-hand with employment gains, said Huang. 

“Over the course of the last 300 years, 100 years, 60 years, even, in the era of computers, not only did productivity go up, employment also went up,” he said. “Now the reason for that is if we have an abundance of ideas, ways that we could build a better future, if we were more productive, we could realize that better.”

The development of AI could also help humans by helping to surface new ideas across industries. The possibility of adding AI-enabled robots to fill the 30- to 40-million worker gap in skilled labor could also be positive and could help industry and the economy grow.

Yet, without new ventures and ideas, the future looks more bleak, he said.

“If you have no more ideas and all you want to do is this, then productivity drives down. It results in job loss.” 

Huang’s comments stand in stark contrast to those of Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who said AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white collar jobs and spike unemployment by double digits over the next five years. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has also warned AI will reduce the company’s total corporate workforce. 

Huang stands out as one of the more optimistic leaders in the AI space, although he noted that AI will certainly transform all jobs, and has already changed his own responsibilities. Although, he cheekily noted, he is still doing the job.

Rather than fully replace humans, AI is already supercharging their productivity by equalizing the playing field, and hopefully, the productivity gains lift society, he added. 

“AI empowers people, it lifts people, it closes the gap, the technology gap, and as a result more and more people are going to be able to do more things.”