Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon warns that AI is being developed and deployed at an unprecedented pace, which could shock the US labor market.
In a new episode of the Goldman Sachs Exchanges Podcast, Solomon highlights that while he doesn’t see AI triggering a tsunami of layoffs, he warns that the labor market could witness further softening as the technology moves at a rapid pace.
“I’m not in the job apocalypse camp. But I would say this technology is moving quickly. I don’t think this is different this time. Technology has been disrupting jobs, changing the way people work, destroying jobs, and forcing us as a vibrant economy to create new jobs for decades and decades. And it’s no different this time.
What you might say is happening a little bit differently is the pace of change. And so when the pace is very quick, that can create more short-term disruptions.”
He points to research from Goldman Sachs’ economics team as evidence that AI-driven disruption does not necessarily imply a structurally weaker labor market.
“I credit Jan Hatzius and his team, who have a very, very interesting piece on kind of labor market dynamics, both looking historically and looking forward. And while there will be some labor market disruption, it’s not their conclusion that we have some structurally different level of unemployment.”
Solomon adds that the US economy has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to absorb technological shocks by generating new forms of work, even when older roles disappear. But his biggest concern is the ability of workers to quickly adapt to a labor market being disrupted by fast-moving tech.
“Our economy is incredibly vibrant. It creates new jobs, new industries all the time. That will happen this time, too. I think the thing that’s hard to estimate is just how quickly that happens and how quickly some of the job dislocations that come from this technology. Jobs get disrupted by technology. There’s nothing new about that. And the power of this is palpable.”
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