Jamie Dimon wants society to start worrying about AI-driven job loss before it actually happens.
“I’m not predicting [it] can be a problem. I’m simply saying now’s the time to start thinking about what you do if it does,” Dimon warned.
While Dimon worries about how society will react to an exodus of AI-displaced employees, he is making sure JPMorgan isn’t caught off guard. In fact, the company is taking critical steps to prepare for a technologically fueled transition, complete with “huge redeployment” plans he said are in place.
“We have displaced people from AI,” Dimon said, “and we offer them other jobs. They are usually well-trained and highly talented, very good at things.”
The broader concern, though, is what happens if society gets caught off guard by this disruption. Dimon illustrated his point with a hypothetical scenario he previously mentioned in Davos. Autonomous vehicles could, in theory, replace the 2 million commercial truck drivers in the U.S. overnight, saving lives, cutting fuel costs, and reducing wear on highways.
But, Dimon said, the benefits don’t outweigh the broader costs associated with eliminating these jobs all at once. What would happen to the truck drivers who could see their six-figure income disappear overnight and may have to settle for a lower-skilled job paying a fraction of what they were making previously, Dimon questioned.
Yet Dimon was clear on Tuesday that AI is going to revolutionize business. He noted that while the technology’s results may not have fully surfaced, JPMorgan has deeply embedded AI in its operations and it plans to be at the frontier of this change.
