Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Addresses AI's Impact on Jobs and Society

Jensen Huang adds voice to those warning of AI-induced job losses - but only 'if the world runs out of ideas'

There is a wide belief that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to greatly increase productivity, which may also lead to widespread job displacement. This could happen sooner rather than later, if humanity loses its ability to innovate, indicated Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia, in an interview with CNN. "If the world runs out of ideas, then productivity gains translates to job loss," said Jensen Huang in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria. Huang had been asked about comments made by Dario Amodei, who suggested AI would cause mass employment disruptions. The Nvidia CEO's comments were in response to recent warnings from Dario Amodei, the head of AI firm Anthropic. Last month, Amodei told Axios that the rise of artificial intelligence might wipe out half of all entry-level office positions and push national unemployment as high as 20% within five years. Huang did not dispute the possibility, but said the outcome depends heavily on society's creative drive. Indeed, he might be right. A century ago, there were complaints about cars based on the internal combustion engine (ICE) leaving those involved in servicing horses unemployed. Years later, the horse guys were servicing ICE cars and earning much more. While we are speculating, the same could happen here. Industry surveys reflect these employment concerns. A 2024 study from Adecco Group found that 41% of corporate leaders expect AI to reduce staffing at thousands of firms over the next half-decade. Separately, a report released in January by the World Economic Forum (WEF) indicated that 41% of employers plan to shrink their teams by 2030 due to automation driven by AI. Surveys also show a shift in how work is performed. A 2024 joint survey by Duke University and Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Richmond found that over half of large American firms intend to use AI to take over routine tasks like invoice processing and supplier payments. Huang said all occupations will feel the effects of AI in some form. While certain roles will disappear, he expects many others to be introduced, so the fears about dramatically high unemployment rates are unsubstantiated for now. The head of Nvidia noted that even his own role has evolved due to AI, though he remains active in it. He called AI the most accessible technology advancement yet, capable of helping even those with limited technical skills. Looking to the past, Huang pointed out that technological breakthroughs over the last several centuries -- including the computing era -- have historically resulted in both job creation and improved productivity. He argued that with the right ideas, technology can unlock entirely new areas of growth and benefit society as a whole. The CEO of Nvidia expressed hope that increased efficiency across industries will ultimately improve living standards, but he cautioned that this outcome is not guaranteed unless innovation continues. Nvidia, which briefly reached a $4 trillion market capitalization earlier this month, plays a central role in the ongoing AI boom as its data center GPUs are used for both AI training and inference by companies like Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft.

The CEO of Nvidia Admits What Everybody Is Afraid of About AI

As the AI chipmaker rockets past a $4 trillion valuation, CEO Jensen Huang lays out a stunning vision of a future with robot assistants and revived American factories, but admits the transition won't be painless. This week, Nvidia became the first company in history to be worth $4 trillion. It’s a number so large it's almost meaningless, more than the entire economy of Germany or the United Kingdom. While Wall Street celebrates, the question for everyone else is simple: So what? The answer, according to Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang, is that this is not just about stock prices. It’s about a fundamental rewiring of our world. So why is this one company so important? In the simplest terms, Nvidia makes the "brains" for artificial intelligence. Their advanced chips, known as GPUs, are the engines that power everything from ChatGPT to the complex AI models being built by Google and Microsoft. In the global gold rush for AI, Nvidia is selling all the picks and shovels, and it has made them the most powerful company on the planet. In a wide ranging interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria, Huang, the company's leather jacket clad founder, explained what this new era of AI, powered by his chips, will mean for ordinary people. Huang didn’t sugarcoat it. “Everybody’s jobs will be affected, “Everybody’s jobs will be affected. Some jobs will be lost," he said. Some will disappear. Others will be reborn. The hope, he said, is that AI will boost productivity so dramatically that society becomes richer overall, even if the disruption is painful along the way. He admitted the stakes are high. A recent World Economic Forum survey found that 41% of employers plan to reduce their workforce by 2030 because of AI. And inside Nvidia itself, Huang said, using AI isn’t just encouraged. It’s mandatory. One of Huang’s boldest claims is that AI’s future depends on America learning to build things again. He offered surprising support for the Trump administration’s push to re-industrialize the country, calling it not just a smart political move but an economic necessity. “That passion, the skill, the craft of making things; the ability to make things is valuable for economic growth. It’s valuable for a stable society with people who can create a wonderful life and a wonderful career without having to get a PhD in physics,†he said. Huang believes that onshoring manufacturing will strengthen national security, reduce reliance on foreign chipmakers like Taiwan’s TSMC, and open high-paying jobs to workers without advanced degrees. This stance aligns with Trump’s tariffs and “Made in America†push, a rare moment of agreement between Big Tech and MAGA world. In perhaps his most optimistic prediction, Huang described AI’s power to revolutionize medicine. He believes AI tools will speed up drug discovery, crack the code of human biology, and even help researchers cure all disease. “Over time, we’re going to have virtual assistant researchers and scientists to help us essentially cure all disease,†Huang said. AI models are already being trained on the “language†of proteins, chemicals, and genetics. Huang says we’ll soon see powerful AI partners in labs across the world. You may not see them yet, but Huang says the technology for physical, intelligent robots already works, and that we’ll see them in the next three to five years. He calls them “VLA models,†short for vision-language-action. These robots will be able to see, understand instructions, and take action in the real world. Huang didn’t dodge the darker side of the AI boom. When asked about controversies like Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok spreading antisemitic content, he admitted “some harm will be done.†But he urged people to be patient as safety tools improve. He said most AI models already use other AIs to fact-check outputs, and the technology is getting better every day. His bottom line: AI will be overwhelmingly positive, even if it gets messy along the way. Jensen Huang talks about AI curing diseases and reshaping work. But here’s what’s left unsaid: every transformation he describes flows through Nvidia. They make the chips. They set the pace. And now, at $4 trillion, they have the leverage to steer the AI era in their favor. We’ve seen this playbook before. Tech giants make utopian promises, capture the infrastructure, and then decide who gets access, and at what cost. From Amazon warehouses to Facebook news feeds, the pattern is always the same: consolidation, disruption, control. The AI hype machine keeps selling inevitability. But behind the scenes, this is a story about raw power. Nvidia is becoming a gatekeeper for what’s possible in science, labor, and security. And most of us didn’t get a vote. Huang says harm will happen. But history tells us that when companies promise to fix the world with tech, the harm tends to land on the same people every time.