Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a stark warning about the dire and “irreversible” effects of artificial intelligence on labor markets.
Speaking at the Eurasian Economic Forum in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 28, Putin told EAEU heads of state that AI models would soon “inevitably” displace millions of people from roles in data analysis, software development and automation.
Speaking at the conference, the Russian President warned how the labor market is being reformed due to the advent of artificial intelligence. As a result, millions of people will either lose their jobs or be forced to change their field of employment.
“Entire professions may become extinct due to the fact that humans will be replaced by artificial intelligence. Such processes are irreversible and inevitable.”
Talking about sectors that are already being replaced, Putin said, professions related to software, data analysis and writing code are in danger due to the replacement of junior specialists related to these sectors at the hands of technology and “in the near future, middle personnel are also likely to be replaced.”
“Progress does not stand still. We have to be prepared for the changes to come, and even better, use them as drivers of accelerated economic growth.”
Putin’s comments come after tech giants dismissed fears of an AI-driven job apocalypse.
Speaking at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) conference in Sydney on Tuesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dismissed fears about a “global job apocalypse” generated by cutting-edge AI models.
According to Altman, the extent to which the world has claimed technology is taking over human jobs is nothing more than fear mongering. Technology did not claim as many white-collar jobs as they feared.
“I don’t think we’re going to have the kind of annihilation of jobs that some of our space sector companies are advocating or talking about.”
Similarly, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also criticized tech bosses for creating panic among people concerned about AI-driven job losses.
Huang said, “It was a way for them to look smart, and I really hate it… I think we’re scaring people, and it’s irresponsible.”
