Google CEO Sundar Pichai says every job will feel the impact of AI, and workers will need to adapt to keep up.
In an interview with the BBC’s Newsnight programme, he warned that no profession will be immune from the technology’s rise, even at the highest levels.
“AI is the most profound technology humanity is ever working on, and it has potential for extraordinary benefits, and we will have to work through societal disruption,” Pichai said.
“It will evolve and transition certain jobs. People will need to adapt, and then there will be areas where it will impact some jobs,” he said.
“People who adapt to AI will do better”
He added that these changes will not be limited to entry-level or repetitive roles, explaining that “all jobs” will be touched by the technology. Pichai even noted that his own job as CEO is “one of the easier things” for AI to eventually handle.
He also argued that those who adapt to AI tools will gain the biggest advantages. “I think people who learn to adopt and adapt to AI will do better,” the Google boss explained. “It doesn’t matter whether you want to be a teacher, a doctor. All those professions will be around, but the people who will do well in each of those professions are people who learn how to use these tools.”
Pichai also addressed concerns from younger workers who are entering a job market already reshaped by automation.
Despite this, Pichai said students and early-career workers should not try to predict which jobs will be safest from AI, as there is no specific major or profession that can guarantee long-term protection.
“Based on what I see, I wouldn’t change anything of how we’ve always thought,” he said when asked how parents should advise their children. “I think there’s going to be a wide variety of disciplines that will end up mattering. I would encourage the next generation to embrace the technology. Learn to use it in the context of what you do.”
In the same interview, the Google exec also warned users not to blindly trust what AI tells them.
