AI CEO Warns of Rapid Technological Advances Leading to Job Replacements
By Samantha Delouya, CNN Business — September 17, 2025
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence research lab, has reiterated his concerns that AI technology is advancing at an astonishing pace and could soon lead to widespread job displacement. Speaking at Axios’ AI+ DC Summit on September 17, Amodei emphasized that AI-driven automation is not a distant threat but a current reality reshaping the labor market.
“This is already happening,” Amodei said, pointing to early signs of AI integration that are replacing human roles across various sectors.
Accelerating AI Capabilities and Labor Market Impacts
Despite some skepticism about AI’s immediate effectiveness, Amodei underscored the exponential growth of the technology, which has the potential to disrupt employment on a large scale. Recent economic data reveals that the U.S. labor market is cooling faster than many anticipated, with the unemployment rate climbing to a three-year high last month and a slowing pace of job creation. While it remains unclear whether AI is a direct contributor to this decline, experts are closely monitoring the correlation.
AI’s current applications have produced mixed results. For instance, Apple recently concluded that its AI-powered Siri assistant did not meet quality expectations, and there have been reports linking AI chatbot usage to mental health challenges in some users. Still, the promise of AI’s future capabilities continues to drive intense investment and development.
Previous Warnings from Anthropic’s CEO
Amodei first sounded the alarm earlier this year, warning in May that AI tools under development by Anthropic and other companies could eliminate up to half of entry-level white-collar jobs within one to five years. He predicted that widespread job losses could push unemployment rates as high as 20%.
“When an exponential is moving very quickly, you can’t be sure. This could happen faster than I imagine, this could happen slower than I imagine, or something very different could happen,” Amodei said at the summit. “But I think it is likely enough to happen that we felt there was a need to warn the world about it.”
Calls for Government Intervention
Addressing the broader implications of AI-driven job displacement, Amodei suggested that governments may need to play an active role in helping workers adapt to the changing landscape. Potential measures could include imposing taxes on AI companies to fund social support programs.
Reactions and Ongoing Debate
Amodei’s repeated warnings have drawn mixed responses. Some critics argue his public statements might be strategic moves to enhance his reputation as a responsible tech leader or to boost Anthropic’s prominence in the AI market. However, Amodei dismissed these claims, insisting that many people still underestimate how quickly AI technology is evolving.
“There’s a little disconnect here, where people will sometimes say, ‘Oh, you’re worried about what AI is going to do to jobs, but AI can’t do this, AI can’t do that,’” he said. “Well, we’re talking about today’s AI. The technology is moving quickly.”
As AI continues its rapid development, experts and policymakers alike face the challenge of balancing innovation with the economic and social consequences of automation. The dialogue sparked by leaders like Amodei will be critical in shaping how society navigates this transformative era.
