The co-chairman of Oaktree Capital Management believes that people are not prepared for the potential impact of AI in society.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Lisa Abramowicz at the Capital Markets Industry Conference, billionaire Howard Marks says people haven’t fully grasped the true disruptive power of AI on jobs.
According to Marks, AI is now here, and the technology is beginning to remove entire layers of workers.
“Well, I think most people are underestimating the impact of AI. And, you know, what was it, roughly 18 days ago, on a Friday, that a company called Block, which had 10,000 employees, announced that 4,000 of them were out. 40% of the workforce is gone in one day because AI can do the work cheaper and faster. So, how many people in the world understand the potential import of that? That’s what it is.”
Marks appears to be saying that AI job disruption is happening suddenly, not gradually. He also appears to suggest that CEOs are watching whether Block’s big move works. If it does, executives could copy the pattern, accelerating job displacement across industries.
Late last month, Block CEO Jack Dorsey announced that he is reducing the firm’s headcount by around 40% as it adopts intelligence tools to create smaller and flatter teams. The co-author of the viral Citrini AI report, Alap Shah, said that Dorsey set a precedent that other CEOs cannot ignore.
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