Jamie Dimon said AI could one day help us work less, but not before it cuts jobs.
The JPMorgan CEO said in an interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that AI could improve society, comparing it to past technological leaps that lifted productivity and living standards.
“Maybe one day we’ll be working less hard, but having wonderful lives,” he said.
But getting there won’t be painless. While AI will not “dramatically reduce” jobs in the next year, “it will eliminate jobs,” Dimon said.
“It doesn’t mean people won’t have other jobs,” he said, adding that workers should lean into critical thinking, communication, and emotional intelligence.
The real danger, he said, is that AI adoption could outpace society’s ability to train workers.
“If it does happen too fast for society, which is possible, we can’t assimilate all those people that quickly,” Dimon said.
Government, companies, and society “should look at how do we phase it in a way that we don’t damage a lot of people,” he added.
Dimon has been optimistic about the long-term potential of AI. Last month, he said AI would shrink the workweek.
“My guess is the developed world will be working three and a half days a week in 20, 30, 40 years,” Dimon said in November at the America Business Forum in Miami.
“You’re going to have agents that do research for you every time you wake up in the morning,” he added.
Dimon hasn’t downplayed the risks, either. At a Fortune-hosted conference last month, he warned that job elimination is inevitable. “People should stop sticking their heads in the sand,” he said.
Big bank CEOs on AI disruption
Other big bank CEOs have also said that AI has long-term benefits, but they highlighted the disruption ahead.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in October that AI will lead to shifting job functions, but “at the end of the day, we have an incredibly flexible, nimble economy.”
“I’m excited about it,” he said, adding that he sees “lots of opportunities for our business.”
The CEO of Wells Fargo, Charles Scharf, echoed that view. He told Reuters last month that “the opportunities that exist in AI are very significant.”
“Anyone who sits here today and says that they don’t think they’ll have less head count because of AI either doesn’t know what they’re talking about or is just not being totally honest about it,” he said.
