The Artificial Intelligence Paradox: Will AI Create Jobs or Destroy Jobs?

Will emerging technologies replace jobs? The question that sparks debate across all kinds of gatherings, from boardrooms to classrooms—from living rooms to coffee shops.

- KRISHNA MOHAN JHA

The rise of AI has demonstrated its capability to write structured content, generate images/videos based on prompts, and swiftly analyze large amounts of data among many more tasks, prompting concerns about job losses and economic shifts. Are these worries valid, or should we take a broader view?

Throughout history, innovations have caused anxiety. Yet each technological wave—from mechanization to digitalization—has ultimately expanded opportunities rather than eliminated them.

HISTORICAL PATTERN OF INNOVATION

FUELLING FEAR

The Industrial Revolution automated physical labor, causing immediate concern. Textile workers in 19th-century England even destroyed machines in protest. Nevertheless, economies adapted and expanded. Jobs transformed rather than disappeared; productivity increased, and new careers emerged.