AI Expert Warns Of A Future Where 80 Per Cent Of Jobs Vanish

Artificial intelligence is no longer an experiment sitting quietly in research labs. It is now shaping corporate decisions, altering industries overnight, and creating a genuine fear that almost any job could be automated. Over the past few years, several global tech companies have laid off thousands as part of wider AI-driven restructuring. According to leading AI researcher Stuart Russell, the threat is far larger than most people assume. In his view, even the most secure roles and the highest-ranking executives could eventually be replaced.

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AI Could Overtake Highly Skilled Professions

Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Russell cautioned that AI’s impact will not be restricted to entry-level work. Stuart Russell said, "AI systems are doing pretty much everything we currently call work." His warning becomes more striking when he describes what automation could mean for highly specialised fields. The AI expert believes that professions once thought untouchable, including surgery, may face rapid displacement. "Anything you might aspire to — you want to become a surgeon — it takes the robot seven seconds to learn how to be a surgeon that's better than any human being," he added.

When AI can absorb mastery in mere seconds, the barrier of skill that once protected such roles weakens significantly.

Executives May Not Be Immune

Russell also argues that corporate leadership will feel AI’s pressure sooner than expected. While layoffs so far have mostly affected mid and lower tiers, he believes CEOs could eventually face the same fate. He explained, "Pity the poor CEO whose board says, 'Unless you turn over your decision-making power to the AI system, we're going to have to fire you because all our competitors are using an AI-powered CEO and they're doing much better.'"

The idea of an AI-driven executive may feel futuristic, but the logic behind it is exactly what has driven every previous automation shift: outperform the competition or be replaced.

A Global Workforce Crisis

The implications extend far beyond boardrooms. Russell believes governments may soon confront unprecedented levels of job displacement, stating that societies are "staring 80% unemployment in the face." Other leaders in technology share pieces of this concern, though with varying intensity. Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently told the BBC, "I think what a CEO does is maybe one of the easier things for an AI to do one day."

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Some experts, like Andrew Yang and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, foresee tens of millions of roles transforming or disappearing. Others, such as Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Meta’s Yann LeCun, argue that AI will reshape work rather than wipe it out. Yet Russell’s viewpoint remains one of the starkest, suggesting very few occupations may remain untouched.

A Future Where Work Is Optional

Adding another dimension to this debate, Elon Musk predicts a world where humans will not be required to work at all. In his view, automation will become so comprehensive that employment will shift from necessity to choice. Whether this future represents liberation or instability depends on how societies adapt.