Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, which was acquired by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in 2016, discussed the positive and negative effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on employment. In an interview with Fortune, the entrepreneur emphasized the importance of worker upskilling and reskilling, leveraging AI technology to facilitate the job transition. Despite acknowledging that AI would displace some traditional jobs, Hoffman highlighted its potential to create new job opportunities. Leaders and government agencies should use technology to help make the transition, he suggested.
Concerns over AI’s potential to eliminate many jobs have been raised by executives, including OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman. In a bid to drive AI innovation, major tech companies such as Microsoft and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) have been racing to develop the technology. This has triggered fears that more jobs could be lost as a result of the AI arms race. Companies like CNET and BT Group have already started laying off workers and replacing them with AI.
Recently, the startup Inflection AI, co-founded by Mustafa Suleyman of Google DeepMind, and LinkedIn co-creator Hoffman unveiled a new AI chatbot named “Pi.” The chatbot is designed to offer personal conversations and emotional support to users and is a different approach to existing chatbots like OpenAI’s chatGPT, Google Bard, and Microsoft Bing AI.
