Jamie Dimon warns AI rollout may need to slow down to prevent civil unrest and job disruption

Rollout of AI may need to be slowed to 'save society', says boss of JP Morgan

Jamie Dimon warns of civil unrest as Nvidia's Jensen Huang argues that tech will create rather than destroy jobs Jamie Dimon, the boss of JP Morgan, has said artificial intelligence "may go too fast for society" and cause "civil unrest" unless governments and business support displaced workers. While advances in AI will have huge benefits from increasing productivity to curing diseases, the technology may need to be phased in to "save society". Dimon said companies and governments cannot ignore AI or "put your head in the sand". The Wall Street lender will probably have fewer employees in five years as it rolls out AI, he told an audience at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos. "Your competitors are going to use it and countries are going to use it," he said. "However, it may go too fast for society and if it goes too fast for society that's where governments and businesses [need to] in a collaborative way step in together and come up with a way to retrain people and move it over time." Dimon said local governments may need to use assistance programmes, which support wages and offer retraining, relocation and early retirement. The two million commercial lorry drivers in the US are an example of an area that may need support as driverless trucks hit the road, he said. "Should you do it all at once if two million people go from driving a truck and making $150,000 a year to a next job [that] might be $25,000? No. You will have civil unrest," Dimon said. "So phase it in. "If we have to do that to save society ... Society will have more production, we are going to cure a lot of cancers, you're not going to slow it down. How do you have plans in place if it does something terrible?" Dimon, who was speaking before Donald Trump addressed the World Economic Forum, offered a restrained critique of the US president's increasingly combative approach to Europe and Nato and demands to take over Greenland. "If the goal is to make them stronger rather than fragment Europe, I think that's OK," Dimon said. "I would be using our moral persuasion, our economic persuasion, our intelligence and military to push Europe to do the things that's right for Europe. The leadership of Europe has to do it, it really can't be done by America." Dimon also revealed his concerns about Trump's immigration clampdown, calling for the "internal anger" over the issue to be calmed down. "I don't like what I'm seeing with five grown men beating up little women," said Dimon, referring to scenes of violence involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. Rounding up criminals is one thing," Dimon added, but he would like to see data showing who has been rounded up and whether they had broken the law. Dimon added that many migrants play important roles in the US economy, such as in healthcare, hospitality and agriculture. "We all know them. They are good people and they should be treated that way." Jensen Huang, chief executive of the semiconductor maker Nvidia, whose chips are used to power many AI systems, argued that labour shortages, rather than mass payoffs are the threat. Playing down fears of AI-driven job losses, Huang told the meeting in Davos that "energy's creating jobs, the chips industry is creating jobs, the infrastructure layer is creating jobs ... jobs, jobs, jobs". He added: "This is the largest infrastructure buildout in human history, this is going to create a lot of jobs." Many of those jobs relate to tradecraft, Huang said, such as plumbers, electricians, construction, steelworkers, network technicians, and people who install equipment for AI rollout. This is already pushing up salaries in this area in the US, he added, for people involved in building chip factories or AI datacentres. Huang also argued that AI robotics is a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity for Europe, as the region has an "incredibly strong" industrial manufacturing base. "This is your opportunity to now leap past the era of software," he argued, an area where Silicon Valley has long outperformed Europe.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says he welcomes government ban on mass-firing people for AI: 'We're going to cure a lot of cancers' | Fortune

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the company's CEO Jamie Dimon admitted he'll likely employ fewer workers in the next five years -- but warned that rushing into AI-driven layoffs without safeguards could backfire, potentially triggering "civil unrest." Instead, the 69-year-old said he'd even welcome government bans on replacing masses of workers with AI. But before it gets to that stage, he already has ideas up his sleeve to protect some of the over 300,000 employees on his payroll. "I have a plan to retrain people, relocate people, income-assist people," Dimon said. Dimon pointed to the roughly two-million-strong commercial trucking industry as an example. A sudden shift to fully autonomous trucking, he said, could displace workers who currently earn well into six figures, leaving them struggling to make ends meet. "Phase it in. Retrain." he said. "You can't lay off 2 million truckers tomorrow. You can phase it in over time." And if that doesn't suffice and government intervention is needed to prevent companies from cutting jobs too aggressively, Dimon said he would support it -- especially if it comes from local incentives. "We would agree -- if we have to do that to save society," he said. "Society will have more production. We're going to cure a lot of cancers. You're not going to slow it down. How do you have plans in place to make it work better if it does something terrible?" Workers may soon find unlikely allies in billionaires like Jamie Dimon, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman So far, job cuts directly tied to AI have been limited; in 2025, just 55,000 positions were eliminated due to automation -- accounting for more than 75% of all AI-related cuts reported since 2023, according to analysis from recruiting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. However, AI leaders like pioneering computer science Geoffrey Hinton said the worst is still yet to come. "What's actually going to happen is rich people are going to use AI to replace workers," the "Godfather of AI" said last September. "It's going to create massive unemployment and a huge rise in profits. It will make a few people much richer and most people poorer. That's not AI's fault, that is the capitalist system." Dimon's contrasting remarks are likely to offer some reassurance to workers, signaling that at least some business leaders recognize that replacing employees with AI -- without policies to support those displaced -- could have serious social consequences. Still, he admitted similar efforts haven't worked so great in the past. Dimon pointed to the U.S.'s Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which provides support to workers who lose jobs or see wages decline to offshoring, as a cautionary tale -- calling it "incredibly poorly done." That failure, Dimon added, doesn't mean new approaches in the AI-era can't succeed. "Don't put your head in the sand. It is what it is," he said. But Dimon isn't the first billionaire executive thinking about how society should respond if AI significantly reduces the need for human labor. Elon Musk has repeatedly argued that advances in AI and robotics will eventually make universal income unavoidable. "...there will be no poverty in the future and so no need to save money," Musk wrote in a post on X, his social media platform. "There will be universal high income." OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has long taken a similar view, advocating for what he described in a 2016 YCombinator blog post as, "giving people enough money to live on with no strings attached." "I'm fairly confident that at some point in the future, as technology continues to eliminate traditional jobs and massive new wealth gets created, we're going to see some version of this at a national scale."

Jamie Dimon Warns A.I. May Disrupt Workers Faster Than Society Can Adapt

The bank CEO warns that rapid automation could spark social unrest if workers are left behind. JPMorgan Chase is leading the pack among financial institutions embracing A.I. to boost productivity. Even so, CEO Jamie Dimon worries the technology's rapid adoption will outpace the labor market's ability to adjust. "I do think it may go too fast for society," said Dimon while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, today (Jan. 21). "That's where governments and business need collaborative ways to step in together and come up with ways to retrain people." Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter Sign Up Thank you for signing up! By clicking submit, you agree to our <a href="http://observermedia.com/terms">terms of service</a> and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime. See all of our newsletters There's no point in pretending A.I. won't radically reshape industries, Dimon added, noting that JPMorgan alone is incorporating the technology across roughly 500 use cases. But productivity gains come with trade-offs, including job losses. "It is what it is," said Dimon. "You can hope for the world you want, but you're going to get the world you got." The CEO urged companies not to "put your head in the sand," but to embrace A.I. JPMorgan is already adopting this strategy. The bank is using the technology in areas such as risk, fraud, marketing, customer service and idea generation, and expects it to lead to custom assistants for employees, automated agents for internal processes, and concierge tools for clients. As A.I. spreads across the financial sector, job cuts are likely to follow. JPMorgan will likely have "fewer employees" in five years, said Dimon, echoing warnings from other Wall Street leaders. Goldman Sachs, for example, told staff last fall that A.I.-driven efficiency gains would constrain headcount, while Citigroup earlier this month said some roles would be replaced by the technology. Dimon called on policymakers to act now to stabilize society before A.I.'s labor impact becomes fully apparent. Governments should roll out programs to "retrain people, relocate people, income-assist people," he said, pointing to Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) as a model -- though in a more effective form. "We need to be prepared to have something that works this time." Without such measures, the consequences could be severe. Dimon pointed to the U.S. trucking industry as an example. "Should you do it all at once, if 2 million people go from driving a truck and making $150,000 a year to a next job that might be $25,000?" he asked. "No. You'll have civil unrest." Self-driving trucks may ultimately save lives, cut emissions and reduce costs, Dimon acknowledged. But those kinds of disruptions need to be rolled out gradually, with governments incentivizing companies to slow the pace and support displaced workers with training and financial assistance. He added that JPMorgan would be willing to accept a slower rollout of A.I. if necessary. "We would agree, if we have to do that to save society," said Dimon. "We're not going to kill all of our employees tomorrow because of A.I."

Jamie Dimon drops big hint on JPMorgan's future hiring in the coming years at Davos, Wall Street stalwart says 'you can't lay off 2 million...'

Wall Street mogul Jamie Dimon spoke about how JPMorgan Chase will hire employees in the near future due to the impact of AI. He said that he has plans to employ fewer employees in the next five years while speaking at Davos. The JPMorgan Chase CEO gave the example of truckers in the US, saying 2 million truckers can't be laid off tomorrow as the process can be phased in over time. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, while speaking at the World Economic Forum, also known as the Davos conference, warned that unchecked AI adoption could lead to significant job losses and social instability. The Wall Street mogul asserted "cutting jobs is a bigger social issue than he thinks", stressing the need for phased implementation, retraining, and income support, highlighting that millions of workers cannot be replaced overnight. At Davos, Jamie Dimon highlighted that AI adoption must be phased in carefully and gave the example of US trucking industry, which employs about to million drivers out of which many earn hefty salaries. A sudden shift to fully autonomous trucks, he said, could leave large sections of the workforce without viable alternatives. "You can't lay off two million truckers tomorrow," Dimon noted, calling instead for retraining, redeployment, and income-support measures. He said JPMorgan already has plans to retrain and redeploy employees impacted by automation, adding that he would even support government intervention if it helped prevent sudden, large-scale job losses. At a time when workplaces around the world are undergoing an unprecedented revolution due to the Artificial Intelligence, JPMorgan Chase is also not an exception. Jamie Dimon, admitted he'll likely employ fewer workers in the next five years -- but warned that rushing into AI-driven layoffs without safeguards could backfire, potentially triggering "civil unrest." Instead, the 69-year-old said he would even welcome government restrictions on replacing large numbers of workers with AI. However, long before it reaches that point, he said he already has measures in place to safeguard many of the over 300,000 employees on his payroll. ALSO READ: Jamie Dimon, CEO of US' largest bank JPMorgan, unhappy with global elites' meet in Swiss Alps' Davos, says 'you're not doing a good job...' "If we have to do that to save society ... Society will have more production, we are going to cure a lot of cancers, you're not going to slow it down. How do you have plans in place if it does something terrible?" "I have a plan to retrain people, relocate people, income-assist people," Dimon said. "Phase it in. Retrain." he said. "You can't lay off 2 million truckers tomorrow. You can phase it in over time." "We would agree -- if we have to do that to save society," he said. "Society will have more production. We're going to cure a lot of cancers. You're not going to slow it down. How do you have plans in place to make it work better if it does something terrible?" ALSO READ: 'Nihilist penguin' goes political: Trump joins penguin's death march trend with 'embrace the penguin' post, Internet mocks White House errors. Check latest memes Dimon said companies and governments could not ignore AI or "put your head in the sand". "Your competitors are going to use it and countries are going to use it," he said. "However, it may go too fast for society and if it goes too fast for society that's where governments and businesses [need to] in a collaborative way step in together and come up with a way to retrain people and move it over time." However, AI leaders like pioneering computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton said the worst is yet to come. "What's actually going to happen is rich people are going to use AI to replace workers," the "Godfather of AI" said last September. "It's going to create massive unemployment and a huge rise in profits. It will make a few people much richer and most people poorer. That's not AI's fault, that is the capitalist system." (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

AI poised to disrupt jobs, top executives warn at Davos 2026

Top executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos 2026 warn that Artificial Intelligence will cause significant job losses. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon stated AI's impact is unavoidable, leading to fewer jobs in the next five years. Deloitte CEO Joe Ucuzoglu acknowledged disruption but noted new jobs will emerge. Will AI take away your jobs? Artificial intelligence, hailed as a technological revolution, is set to disrupt labor markets worldwide, top executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos 2026 said, warning that job losses could outpace society's ability to adapt in the coming years. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon described AI as "faster, broader, and unavoidable," with the bank deploying it across hundreds of applications, from fraud detection to customer service. Asked whether AI would lead to fewer jobs in the next five years, Dimon answered unequivocally: yes. He emphasized that governments and businesses must coordinate retraining programs and phased adoption to prevent social backlash. Also Read: Jamie Dimon strikes pragmatic tone on borders, trade and global stability Echoing this concern, Joe Ucuzoglu, Global CEO of Deloitte, said the integration of AI into established organizations is complex, and the resulting labor market disruption is inevitable. "Certain tasks that used to require X amount of labor will now require less," he noted. Yet, he also highlighted the silver lining: historical waves of technological change show that new jobs - many unforeseen today - will emerge alongside AI-driven displacement. Ucuzoglu stressed the need for public-private partnerships to accelerate the creation of these new opportunities and mitigate political consequences, particularly in regions where income inequality and job anxiety are already high. Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman underscored AI's potential to dramatically boost productivity. Early implementations in enterprises are showing nearly threefold returns on investment, she said. However, Friedman cautioned that scaling AI across entire organizations - from product development to finance, marketing, and legal - requires top-down change management and significant investment. "The technology works and can drive massive productivity gains, but making it an enterprise-wide capability is the real challenge," she said. Friedman also highlighted the urgent need for reskilling initiatives, noting that both public and private sectors are actively engaging on this front. Also Read: India is emerging as a manufacturing hub for electronics, Qualcomm CEO says Governments and companies alike must invest in reskilling programs and phased adoption strategies to ensure society can bridge the gap, avoid political fallout, and seize AI's economic potential. While the technology promises unprecedented efficiency, leaders agreed that labor displacement is a pressing concern. The consensus is clear: AI will create both disruption and opportunity, and its societal impact will depend on how governments, corporations, and workers manage the transition. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)