The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence will prompt ‘civil unrest’ if governments and companies fail to protect workers from its displacing effects, says JPMorgan boss
The rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence will prompt ‘civil unrest’ if governments and companies fail to protect workers from its displacing effects, says JPMorgan boss
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warns that the rapid roll-out of artificial intelligence (AI) throughout society will cause “civil unrest” unless governments and companies work together to mitigate its effect on job markets.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Dimon said that although AI can deliver “a more productive society… [and] cure a lot of cancers”, the roll-out needs to be phased to stave off the potential for massive social unrest.
“My view is, ‘Don’t put your head in the sand.’ It is what it is. We’re going to deploy it. Will it eliminate jobs? Yes. Will it change jobs? Yes. Will it add some jobs? Probably. It is what it is,” said Dimon. “However, I do think it may go too fast for society. And if it goes too fast for society, that’s where government and business in a collaborative [need to] way step in together and come up with a way to retrain people or move it over time.”
Highlighting the example of the two million commercial truck drivers in the US, Dimon said that if AI is imposed on them in one fell swoop when effective driverless vehicles hit the road, all those people could potentially go from making $150,000 a year to $25,000 in their next jobs: “Should you do it all at once?. No, you will have civil unrest, so phase it in.”
Acknowledging that even JPMorgan will likely have fewer employees in five years due to its use of AI, Dimon went on to urge governments to plan for these eventualities now, by developing retraining, wage support and relocation programmes to support workers displaced by the technology.
