Several firms are contemplating the replacement of human employees with AI, and now the CEO of a prominent AI firm cautions that this transition might occur sooner than expected.

In a discussion with Axios, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei indicated that AI could remove as much as half of all entry-level white-collar positions. Amodei, who heads the organization responsible for the ChatGPT rival Claude, noted that this employment decline might result in a 20 percent unemployment rate within the next five years.

Recently, Mashable highlighted that AI is already influencing entry-level roles in the technology sector, impacting new graduates who are entering the job market.

Amodei warns that the circumstances could deteriorate.

Is job loss driven by AI on the horizon, or is this merely sensationalism?

Amodei asserts that AI firms ought to alert the populace, as governments and industry rivals are neglecting the potential risks that AI could entail.

He calls on governmental bodies and AI firms to cease minimizing the possible ramifications.

Amodei foresees “the potential large-scale elimination of jobs in technology, finance, law, consulting, and other white-collar sectors, especially entry-level roles.”

He acknowledges the advantageous prospects of AI, such as advancements in medicine and economic development, but emphasizes that the adverse effects are not being addressed with sufficient urgency, as he conveyed to Axios.

Nonetheless, Billionaire Mark Cuban disputed Amodei’s perspective in a Bluesky post.

“Someone should remind the CEO that at one time there were over 2 million secretaries,” Cuban stated. “There were also distinct workers for in-office dictation. They were the initial white-collar displacements. New enterprises with new jobs will emerge from AI and enhance TOTAL employment.”

Amodei did not directly reply to Cuban but referenced AI skeptics who believe that AI companies are overstating their products’ abilities.

Some organizations have rethought the idea of substituting humans with AI. Last year, Klarna started replacing human customer service representatives with AI. Recently, the company acknowledged this was an error and is in the process of rehiring its human staff.