White-Collar Workforce Under Threat from AI

Artificial intelligence is transforming the job market at a rapid pace, and not discreetly. Microsoft AI CEO and co-founder of DeepMind Mustafa Suleyman has cautioned that AI has the potential to destroy about half of all white-collar positions over the next one to five years. At the Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival, Suleyman referred to AI tools as “interactive, dialog agents” that have the ability to replace tasks conventionally performed by knowledge workers such as managers, analysts, and programmers.

The fears are backed by the recent capabilities shown by tools developed by major players like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. With OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini leading the charge, AI is now stepping into more complex cognitive roles. Suleyman emphasized that this wave of AI is not just about enhancing productivity but potentially replacing vast chunks of the workforce.

Even Bill Gates himself had recognized last year that AI will revolutionize white-collar jobs deeply. As businesses are in a hurry to embrace AI across sectors, the urge to reinvent or get left behind is rising. This is not a future prospect—it’s a happening reality.