2026-01-20T14:16:24.388Z
- The CEOs of Anthropic and DeepMind said there are signs that AI is impacting junior-level hiring.
- Both said they’ve seen evidence of that happening within their companies, and that it could accelerate in 2026.
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said he was concerned that rapid AI development would “overwhelm our ability to adapt.”
AI may not be causing a labor market disaster, but leaders at Google DeepMind and Anthropic say they are starting to see an impact on junior roles within their companies.
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said Tuesday in a joint interview with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei at Davos that “this year we’ll probably see the beginning of impact at the junior level.”
“I think there’s some evidence, and our own feeling is that we’re probably seeing a slowdown in hiring in that regard,” he said, highlighting entry-level roles and internships as vulnerable examples.
Mr. Amodei seemed to agree. Anthropic bosses said last year that they believed AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs and push unemployment up to 20%.
He said his predictions had not changed as of Tuesday.
“I think we’re probably starting to see the small beginnings of that in software and coding,” he said. “We see that within Anthropic. We’re looking forward to a time when we actually need less and less talent at the more junior end and even the intermediate end.”
He added, “And we’re thinking about how to address this issue in a smart way within Anthropic.”
Both Amodei and Hassabis warn that the potential impact of AI on the economy and labor markets may require institutional changes through international institutions governing AI and economic intervention to mitigate the most dire consequences.
“What I’m worried about is this exponential situation getting worse. I don’t think it will take that long to overwhelm our ability to adapt. Again, between one and five years,” Amodei said.
