NEW YORK — With many in credit unions also concerned over the future of their own jobs, the outlook among technology executives on artificial intelligence’s impact on employment has shifted markedly over the past year, with many industry leaders now emphasizing AI’s potential to enhance productivity and create jobs rather than eliminate them, according to a report.
The change in tone comes after months of warnings that AI could trigger widespread job losses.
Separately, as the CU Daily reports here, a new report offers extensive insights into the plans by credit union and bank executives for applying artificial intelligence.
As the Wall Street Journal noted, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who previously predicted significant workforce disruption from AI, recently acknowledged that the industry’s forecasts about the social and economic effects of the technology had been overly pessimistic.
‘Roughly Right…Pretty Wrong’
“We’ve been roughly right on technological predictions and pretty wrong on the social and economic implications,” Altman said at a conference in May, according to the Journal. He later told CNBC that the industry had underestimated “how much we’re going to be able to keep people at the center of everything.”
Similarly, Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, who has moderated earlier warnings that AI could eliminate half of entry-level jobs, also acknowledged layoffs remain possible but recently said companies also can use AI to expand output with existing workforces if they embrace innovation, the Journal noted.
The Broader Narrative
The Journal reported that the broader narrative has evolved from predictions of widespread workforce reductions to expectations that AI will augment employees and improve productivity.
The shift is reflected beyond Silicon Valley. A survey by consulting firm EY-Parthenon found the percentage of chief executives expecting AI investments to produce significant reductions in headcount fell from about 46% in January 2025 to 20% in May 2026.
The View from MIT
David Autor, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the publication that executives may have realized the labor market has not deteriorated as quickly as expected or concluded that predicting mass job losses was counterproductive for selling AI products.
Research cited by the Journal from financial technology company Ramp and workforce analytics firm Revelio Labs found companies making the largest AI investments increased employment roughly 10% more than similar companies that had not adopted the technology.
Altman said many of the companies most aggressively deploying AI also continue to hire workers, adding that AI is creating demand for new occupations that did not previously exist.
Some Continue to Reduce Staffing
Several technology companies, however, continue to reduce staffing while increasing AI investment.
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently said that if AI improves productivity faster than it automates work, employment could ultimately increase. His comments came after the company laid off about 8,000 employees as it reorganized teams.
Likewise, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has highlighted AI’s long-term job-creation potential, although the company has also reduced its workforce as part of broader restructuring efforts.
What One Survey Found
The Journal noted that businesses continue to face challenges implementing AI effectively. A survey by consulting firm Emergn found some executives believe internal reports overstate the success of AI initiatives, while setbacks often go underreported.
The Journal also reported that public skepticism toward AI has grown as policymakers debate regulation and companies invest billions of dollars in data centers and other AI infrastructure.
