The A.I. Jobpocalypse, Revisited

waiter robot ai job
In the long arc of history, the idea that a technological innovation will simply replace labor has never actually borne out: Instead, the labor markets have just continued to evolve. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images
Ian Krietzberg
September 2, 2025

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Last month, I wrote about a team of researchers at a think tank called the Economic Innovation Group, who published a report debunking some of the hysteria about the feared A.I. jobpocalypse. Notably, the researchers found a paucity of evidence suggesting that this doomsday was around the corner. After breaking occupations into categories based on their exposure to A.I. obsolescence, the researchers discovered, ironically, that the “unemployment rate for the most A.I.-exposed workers” was actually rising less quickly than for “the least exposed workers.” Somewhat humorously, the report was titled AI and Jobs: The Final Word (Until the Next One)—a reference to the fact that we’re still in the early days of understanding how this technology will truly impact the workforce, despite vocal protestations that we’re headed down a path of no return.