AI tools are becoming powerful enough to complete complex office tasks in a fraction of the time once required. Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of Ark Invest, said her team recently witnessed this firsthand when employees used the AI system Claude to complete several automation projects that had been on hold for several months.
In a video uploaded to Ark Invest’s YouTube channel, Wood said the experience was a defining moment for AI in the workplace. She said the situation reminded her of the early days of personal computers in the 1980s. Back then, people gathered around desks to see what new machines could do. At the time, the first personal computers were fairly basic. Wood recalled that early systems could only perform simple calculations such as addition and subtraction. But over the years, these machines continued to change the way businesses were run and the way work was done within the office.
Ark Invest finance team members use Claude to automate months of pending work
Wood believes the team recently experienced a similar moment with AI, when members of Ark Invest’s finance team started using Claude to handle a list of automation tasks.
She said the employee had been planning several automation projects for about six months. Rather than take the time to complete each one one by one, I decided to test Claude to see if he could handle the task. The results came much faster than anyone in the office expected.
“I was just amazed at how quickly someone on our finance team was able to automate all of the automation projects we had been planning for the past six months,” Wood said while describing the incident.
The company continued to use Palantir’s systems in its operations, but employees worked independently. Wood said the speed and quality of the output surprised everyone who watched. AI tools have produced structured output such as tables and graphics that look polished and ready to use. Team members sometimes manually checked some calculations to ensure the numbers were correct.
“Everyone around him was shocked by the beauty of the graphics and tables and how perfect they were,” Wood said, adding that even after cross-checking additions, subtractions and percentages, the results were accurate.
For Wood, this moment reminded him of more than 40 years ago, when early personal computers were first introduced into offices. At that time, people were interested in what machines could do, even if their capabilities were limited. Over time, these machines became the center of almost every workplace. Wood believes AI systems could bring similar changes to the way tasks are handled in the coming years.
Ark Invest CEO says increased productivity could mean fewer workers needed
One outcome of these improvements could be a sharp increase in productivity. If companies can complete more work in less time, they may not need the same number of employees for certain tasks. Wood pointed to recent U.S. employment data when discussing this possibility. He noted that the employment report has been revised downward several times even though overall economic output has not fallen by the same amount.
She explained that when this happens, it often means that workers and businesses are producing more per person. Simply put, fewer people can do the same work.
“If we’re going to adjust employment downward to achieve the same amount of GDP, productivity has to go up,” Wood said.
Her company has long argued that technological innovation, especially artificial intelligence, can lead to significant increases in productivity. Wood said productivity growth, which has hovered around 2% in recent years, could approach 5% if new technologies continue to improve at a rapid pace.
Increased productivity can also impact the economy as a whole. Mr Wood said pressure on prices often eases when companies are able to produce goods and services more efficiently.
Although markets are facing a period of volatility due to geopolitical tensions, concerns about government shutdowns, and other global events, Wood believes that productivity improvements through technology remain a key factor supporting economic activity. If tools like Claude continue to improve at this rate, Wood suggests that the way many mundane office tasks are handled could change significantly over the next few years, potentially requiring fewer people to complete the same tasks.
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