The debate about whether artificial intelligence would destroy jobs or create them has been an argument about the future. The future has now arrived โ with results simultaneously more encouraging and more troubling than either camp predicted.
McKinsey's Global Institute estimates AI has displaced approximately 14 million jobs in developed economies between 2023 and 2026, primarily in roles involving routine cognitive tasks: data entry, basic legal and financial document review, customer service, and intermediate coding. At the same time, approximately 22 million new jobs have been created โ a net positive of 8 million.
The 14 million displaced jobs were disproportionately held by people without university degrees, often in their 40s and 50s, in sectors where retraining resources are scarce. The 22 million new jobs are disproportionately in AI development, prompt engineering, and AI-adjacent professional services.
We are creating enormous wealth and enormous disruption simultaneously. The question is not whether AI is good or bad for workers. It is whether we have the political will to distribute the gains fairly.