Jeffrey and Andrea Silal
NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Panelists at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York shrugged off concerns about a artificial intelligence bubble, focusing instead on the transformative effects of AI and how it can upend work and job growth.
Artificial intelligence represents the biggest technological change for the global economy since the rise of the Internet a quarter of a century ago. It has brought trillions of dollars of investment and skyrocketing stock market gains, but also a shortage of memory chips, regulatory scrutiny and growing anxiety about job displacement.
The numbers are mind-boggling. In the first half of 2025, AI-related capital spending contributed more to GDP growth than consumer spending, according to JP Morgan Asset Management. Investment advisory Bespoke Investment Group recently estimated that about a third of the increase in global market capitalization since the introduction of AI assistant ChatGPT has come from 28 AI-related companies.
Reuters NEXT corporate executives on Wednesday and Thursday focused largely on how AI would transform work, although some talked about the threat to jobs. “All (our clients) are focused on slowing workforce growth,” said May Habib, CEO and co-founder of startup IA Writer. “This has happened just in the last few weeks. You close a client, you get on the phone with the CEO to start the project, and he says, ‘Okay, how soon can I hit 30% of my team?'”
SAP CEO Christian Klein said that at a recent company town hall, the top question from employees was how AI would affect their work. “We’re rolling out AI across the company, even my general counsel, my legal department, it’s not safe, something you can do more efficiently with AI,” he said.
FEAR OF LABOR CONTROVERSIAL
Fears about job displacement caused by the artificial intelligence boom are backed by a report from the US Federal Reserve that points to data and surveys that say artificial intelligence is already replacing entry-level positions and causing companies to cut hiring plans. An August Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 71% were worried that artificial intelligence is “putting too many people out of work permanently”.
In a more upbeat tone that became a theme of the Reuters NEXT conference, economist Joseph Lavorgna, an adviser to the US Treasury secretary, said the focus should be on how technology could enhance labor rather than replace it. “AI is an incredible tool that I think is complementary to the existing workforce,” he said. “We need policies that encourage companies to invest, and AI is a complement.”
However, employment data is hard to ignore. Recent college graduates have seen a sharp rise in unemployment, with a current unemployment rate of 9.5 percent for those ages 20 to 24 with a bachelor’s degree, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, compared to the national rate of 4.4 percent.
Joe Depa, EY’s chief innovation officer, compared the changes to previous technological changes such as the development of the Internet, but “the difference this time is that the disruption is faster.” Depa said “adaptability is the new job security”, with his biggest concern around the middle class.
Tracey Franklin, head of people and director of digital technology at Moderna, said what has changed is how companies are beginning to assess staffing needs in conjunction with technology needs, rather than separately.
“We’re bringing teams together and really looking at what’s their IT portfolio, what’s their human capital strategy, how do we put that together to meet their business goals. So we’re having these integrated conversations that we didn’t have before,” he said.
SKEPTICISM AND CONCERN
The Reuters/Ipsos survey also showed that 61% were concerned about rising data center electricity consumption, which is only set to grow. Jeff Schultz, senior vice president of portfolio strategy at Cisco Systems, noted that the infrastructure to run AI and the necessary chips already consume a lot of power, and the network traffic required for agent AI is much higher and more constant than the sporadic demand of AI chatbots.
Schultz, asked about AI bubble concerns, said massive investments in the technology were justified, given the opportunity.
But backlash is growing at clusters of energy-guzzling data centers that have contributed to rising utility prices. It’s evident in places like Virginia and Pennsylvania, even among supporters of President Donald Trump, who has championed the development of AI and is considering ways to restrict regulation at the state level.
There was notable trepidation among Reuters NEXT speakers from the media and creative industries, due to concerns that AI-generated content could replace the creative work of writers or actors.
“When it comes to talent, there’s a lot of controversy, whether it’s acting, music, et cetera, and that’s where I think we really have to be very aggressive about protecting creative talent and making sure they’re not replaced,” said media executive Shari Redstone.
Sarah Jessica Parker, star of the TV series “Sex and the City,” said she believes people still value the tactile human experience, citing the unpredictability and spontaneity of interpretation.
“Most of us still rely on human exchange,” Parker told Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni. “Even in film, even though I know there’s a lot of things now that you can fix and make prettier, tighter, or better, there’s still that human element when we talk about the movies we love… I’m not sure AI can replicate that nerve in live.”
Read Reuters NEXT’s full coverage here.
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