Oct 18, 2026 · 2 min
Economists debate whether AI replaces workers or reshapes work
Will AI take my job? Ask an economist!
AI’s labor-market effects could determine whether white-collar automation brings broad job losses, new opportunities, or a more complicated mix.
- 1Economists disagree over whether AI will eliminate substantial numbers of white-collar jobs.
- 2The debate turns on whether AI primarily substitutes for workers or creates new tasks and employment.
- 3Audience questions put competing forecasts about the future of work under direct scrutiny.
Don't miss
Daron Acemoglu and Erik Brynjolfsson confront competing predictions about whether AI will replace white-collar workers or create new employment.
The brief
Adrian Ma introduces a live Ask an Economist event focused on the question hanging over AI adoption: will it eliminate jobs or transform the labor market?
Daron Acemoglu and Erik Brynjolfsson examine competing predictions for AI’s effects on white-collar work, job creation, and the future of employment.
The disagreement is consequential: AI could substitute for workers in some roles while creating new tasks and opportunities elsewhere, producing a labor market neither simple forecast captures.
Audience questions bring the abstract debate down to the employment choices and uncertainties facing people as artificial intelligence spreads through the economy.
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