NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Panelists at the Reuters Next conference in New York avoided concerns about an artificial intelligence bubble and instead focused on the transformative effects of AI and how it could impact jobs and employment growth.
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The numbers are impressive. According to JPMorgan Asset Management, AI-related capital spending contributed more to GDP growth than consumer spending in the first half of 2025. Bespoke Investment Group, an investment advisory firm, recently estimated that 28 AI-related companies accounted for about a third of the increase in global market capitalization since the introduction of the AI assistant ChatGPT.
While executives on Reuters NEXT on Wednesday and Thursday focused primarily on how AI will transform jobs, some spoke about the threat to jobs. “All of[our customers]are focused on slowing employee growth,” said May Habib, CEO and co-founder of AI startup Reiter. “This is something that’s happened in the last few weeks. You sign a contract with a customer, you get a call with the CEO to start a project, and you’re like, ‘Wow, how quickly can we kill 30% of the team?'”
Fear of drastic changes in employment
Impressing a more optimistic tone, which was one of the themes of the Reuters NEXT conference, economist Joseph LaVogna, an adviser to the US Treasury secretary, said the focus should be on how technology can enhance the workforce, rather than replace it. “I think AI is a great tool to complement the existing workforce,” he said. “We need policies that encourage business investment, and AI complements that.”
Nevertheless, employment data is hard to ignore. Unemployment among recent college graduates has risen sharply, with the current unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds with a bachelor’s degree at 9.5%, compared to the national unemployment rate of 4.4%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Joe Depa, EY’s chief innovation officer, likened the change to past technological upheavals such as the development of the Internet, but said, “The difference this time is the speed of disruption.” “Adaptability is the new job security,” Depa said, adding that the biggest concern lies with middle management.
“We’re bringing teams together and really thinking about what their IT portfolio is, what their human capital strategy is, and how do we bring that together to achieve their business goals. So we’re having integrated conversations that we haven’t had before,” she said.
skepticism and worry
Asked about concerns about an AI bubble, Schultz said the opportunity would justify large investments in the technology.
There was notable anxiety among media and creative industry speakers at Reuters NEXT over concerns that AI-generated content could replace the creative work of writers and actors.
“There’s a lot of controversy when it comes to talent, whether it’s acting, whether it’s music, and so much more. I think we need to be really proactive in that regard to protect creative talent and make sure they’re not replaced,” said media executive Shari Redstone.
Sarah Jessica Parker, the longtime star of the TV series “Sex and the City,” said she thinks people still value the tactile human experience, citing the unpredictability and spontaneity of performance.
“We are still largely reliant on people-to-people contact,” Parker told Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni. “Even in movies, we know there are a lot of things that can be fixed and made prettier, tighter, better, but when we talk about the movies we love, there’s still a human element…I don’t know if AI can recreate that living nerve.”
Reporting by David Gaffen, Jeffrey Dustin, Andrea Shalal, Crystal Hu, Dawn Chmielewski, Kritika Lamba, Deborah Sophia, Harshita Varghese, Juvie Babu. Written by David Gaffen. Editing: Rod Nickel and Matthew Lewis
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