The Quiet Before the Storm: How Recessions Accelerate AI Job Displacement

Описание: People still debating whether AI played a role in the hiring slowdown of entry-level workers are missing the point 👇

AI undeniably played a role, but not the main one. The current hiring slowdown is mainly due to economic uncertainty, which determined companies to cut costs. This is easier to achieve by pausing hiring than by firing people.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦: A Recession

If this economic uncertainty hardens into a recession, history suggests we'll see AI-enabled displacement.

During economic downturns, companies use the slack to accelerate automation—those jobs never return. J.P. Morgan economist, Murat Tasci, warns the next recession could bring "large-scale displacement for occupations that consist primarily of non-routine cognitive tasks."

Why? Investments in AI-driven automation create a temporary productivity dip. During an economic downturn, when demand is already down, employers are far more willing to absorb that short-term hit for long-term efficiency gains.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤: A Market Correction

This risk is compounded by broader financial uncertainty. Former International Monetary Fund chief economist, Gita Gopinath, has warned that the current tech rally may be setting the stage for a painful market correction.

To put it simply: A major economic crash—whether a recession or a market correction—would provide companies with the perfect political and economic cover to rapidly fire and substitute their workers with AI automation.

Consequently, the question isn't whether AI will transform knowledge work. It is whether we will be ready when economic pressure accelerates that transformation.

Watch the video and share your thoughts in the comments 👇

#ai #automation #futureofwork #economicuncertainty