Fears about artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the economy — and, more importantly, people and their jobs — are widespread. But if society prioritizes human potential (not just a person’s degree or past job) and acknowledges employers’ and employees’ capacity to innovate and improve during times of upheaval, AI presents profound opportunity.
Here is what we have recently read about AI.
Emily Chamlee-Wright set up the challenge for employers, employees, and policymakers. She argued, “The question before us is not simply how to manage the risks of AI, but how to preserve and expand the domain in which human beings can act, imagine, and recombine the tools at hand.”
Chamlee-Wright is not the only one who sees AI as a tool for human progress.
AI cannot replace human creativity and ingenuity
“[AI] can help greatly with employee skills development,” Workday Chief Learning Officer Chris Ernst explained. “Imagine that AI doesn’t just do the work but also teaches you how the work is done — so you’re not just getting an answer, you’re gaining a skill.”
Actor, producer, and director Ben Affleck nearly broke the Internet when, in January 2026, he revealed his feelings about AI to podcaster Joe Rogan.
“I actually don’t think [AI is] going to be able to write anything meaningful, or, in particular, that it’s going to be making movies from whole cloth,” Affleck said.
Instead of replacing human ingenuity (and most jobs), Affleck said humans will use AI as a tool to improve their productivity. He compared AI to electricity — something that caused fear and disruption, but that improved life for humankind.
A few days before the Rogan podcast dropped, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang appeared on the No Priors podcast. As Business Insider reported, in that interview Huang argued that people who predict significant AI-based layoffs “confuse the ‘tasks’ involved in a job with the broader ‘purpose’ of the role.”
In Huang’s view, AI will change “how tasks get done, but the purpose remains the same.” He said that means the technology not only will not destroy jobs, it “could even increase demand for the people responsible for outcomes at work.”
AI may lead to more jobs and more progress
Last fall, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon suggested AI may lead to greater business investment that creates more jobs.
“At the end of the day, we have an incredibly flexible, nimble economy,” Solomon said. “We have a great ability to adapt and adjust. Yes, there will be job functions that shift and change … [But] if you take a three-to-five-year view, it’s giving us more capacity to invest in our business.”
Recent research supports these assertions.
A study by Anthropic concluded “AI is reshaping how people work, not if people work.” For example, 49 percent of jobs now use AI in at least a quarter of the tasks involved. Eliminating those tasks does not eliminate jobs, but frees employees to do other tasks, or to innovative, create, and add value to their lives and the lives of others.
There is more.
In December, a Vanguard analysis found both wage and job growth increased over the past two years in the occupations that were more exposed to AI. A survey by Teneo, meanwhile, found most institutional investors and executives expect AI will drive an increase in hiring across all levels in 2026.