Goldman Sachs top economist agrees that millions of Americans will lose jobs to AI; but rejects the idea that these will be permanently wiped out; says these CEOs are ignoring that …

Goldman Sachs’ top economist, Joseph Briggs has warned that AI adoption could displace about 9% of the US workforce which roughly accounts to 15 millions workers. According to a report by Business Insider, speaking on the bank’s Exchanges podcast, Briggs compared the disruption to the tech-driven upheaval of the late 1990s and early 2000s, noting that sectors like tech, consulting and graphic design are already witnessing 10,000 to 15,000 fewer jobs added each month due to AI tools. Briggs also pushed back against tech leaders how believe that AI will permanently erase jobs arguing it fixates on jobs destroyed while ignoring those created. “History is on our side,” he said, pointing out that 85% of job growth over the past 80 years has come from new positions created by technology. He emphasised that the labor market constantly churns, with 30 million jobs created and 29 million destroyed annually, and argued that even a modest uptick in job creation could reabsorb displaced workers.

Adoption may lag behind capability

MIT researcher Neil Thompson, also on the podcast, suggested that AI’s impact may be slower than its technical capabilities imply. He noted that adoption depends on access to data, regulatory hurdles, and cost efficiency. In many cases, AI will partially automate tasks rather than eliminate entire jobs. Thompson likened AI to a “rising tide” that workers can adapt to, rather than a “crashing wave” that wipes them out.

Cooling job market adds pressure

The warning comes amid signs of a cooling U.S. labor market. The June jobs report showed just 57,000 jobs added, half of expectations, with April and May revised down by 74,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.2%, but largely because workers exited the labor force. Whether these numbers reflect AI’s “rising tide” or the first signs of a “crashing wave” remains uncertain.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon calls investors more ‘greedy’ and less ‘fearful’ of AI technology

In related news, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon recently said that investors have shifted decisively into “greed” mode as markets are set to test a fundraising wave for giant artificial intelligence (AI) companies. When asked whether markets can support a string of massive equity offerings from the upcoming IPOs of OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX, Solomon said that there is ample capital available for the deals.“There’s plenty of liquidity in the system if the world continues to remain as optimistic,” Solomon said, adding, “I know when I say this, and I’m pausing for a second to say it, it will get quoted but I think its definitely true and something to reflect on that We are definitely in a moment where there’s more greed than there is fear.”