AI-driven labor displacement risks to remain low in near term, Bridgewater says
A message reading "AI artificial intelligence," a keyboard and robot hands are seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
June 1 : Risks of widespread job losses from AI are expected to remain limited this year, according to Bridgewater Associates, with constraints on computing capacity and a resilient economy blunting the technology's near-term impact on employment.
Here are more details from the research report:
• Adoption remains limited, with fewer than 20 per cent of U.S. firms reporting AI use in any business function over a two-week period, concentrated largely in information, technology and professional services, Bridgewater said citing Census Bureau data.
• Over 90 per cent of AI-using firms reported no employment effect over the past six months, and among those where it did influence staffing, more reported headcount increases than decreases, the report said.
• Bridgewater flagged two near-term risks to that outlook: an escalation of the Iran conflict and cost pressures stemming from companies' AI capital investments.
• Even if labor disruption stays muted, Bridgewater warns that the lack of AI-driven economic cooling may complicate the Federal Reserve's efforts to manage inflationary pressures in a tight labor market.
