--- title: "Google CEO Baffled by Suggestion That AI Will Take People’s Jobs" description: "Google CEO Sundar Pichai seems to be very confused as to why anyone might suggest that some AIs may replace human labor." date: "2023-05-13" modified: "2023-05-13" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/google-ceo-baffled-ai-take-jobs" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Google" tags: - "ai" - "Google" - "labor" - "sundar pichai" --- # Google CEO Baffled by Suggestion That AI Will Take People’s Jobs ![Google CEO Sundar Pichai seems to be very confused as to why anyone might suggest that some AIs may replace human labor.]() *\Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images/Futurism\* Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who's currently hard at work automating human labor at an [incredible scale](), is very confused as to why anyone might suggest that AI might replace human workers. Fresh on the heels of Google's [Wall Street-winning]() and heavily AI-focused I/O conference, Pichai [made an appearance on *The Verge*'s *Decoder* podcast](). And editor-in-chief Nilay Patel wasted no time in hitting him with some tough questions about AI-abetted job losses. "If you believe it's a platform shift, this might be the first platform shift that regulators understand because it's very obvious what kind of labor will be displaced," said Patel. "Lawyers, mostly, is what I gather, right? They can see, okay, a bunch of white-collar labor will go away, like a C-plus email about a transaction, entire floors of those people can be reduced." Patel's question isn't exactly out of left field. Some industries have [already seen job losses](), while a recent Goldman-Sachs memo estimated that [roughly 300 million jobs]() could feasibly be [delegated to AI](). Pichai, however, didn't quite rise to the occasion. "For 20 years of tech automation, people have predicted all kinds of jobs would go away," Pichai responded, adding that "movie theaters were supposed to end" as the result of tech innovation. That's an interesting choice on Pichai's behalf, considering that theater attendance has been steadily [declining since 2002](), not to mention that Hollywood is in the throes of [a writer's strike]() in which AI has emerged as a major issue. But when Patel pointed out that the film industry *is* in decline, the Google CEO almost seemed at a loss for words. "There's always going to be... Unemployment over the last 20 years of tech automation hasn't fully... Twenty years ago, when people exactly predicted what tech automation would do, there are very specific pronouncements of entire job categories which would go away," said a seemingly flustered Pichai. "That hasn't fully played out." "I don't know. I don't know," he added later. "So it's not exactly clear to me how all this plays out." Elsewhere, Pichai claimed that "new professions \[are\] constantly getting created," though he conceded that "big societal labor market disruption" will occur and "governments need to be involved." "But I think we shouldn’t underestimate the beneficial side of some of these things, too," he added. "And it’s complicated, is maybe how I would say it." To his credit, it's true that no one really knows what's on the other side of the brimming AI hype wave. Still, it's hard not to find Pichai's answer to the automation question a little disappointing. Several industries — including [journalism](), [videogame design](), and [tech]() — have already replaced human labor with automated tools, and some of those industries have even [witnessed layoffs]() in [the wake of]() the tech's rollout. Right now, though, it very much looks like AI could have a radical impact on the labor market — and Google will have played an instrumental role in that. Look, we're not saying that Pichai needs to be particularly sympathetic about layoffs. But since this is one of the biggest questions that the public is currently asking about AI, and he's the CEO of a company that practically controls the internet, Pichai's around-the-bush response just falls short. In fact, he just sounded deflated. "There's a new technology," Pichai told the *Verge*. "It has a chance to bring unprecedented benefits. It has downsides. I think you are right." "I think we need to think about it," he added. "We need to anticipate as early as we can." **More on AI and the job industry:** [*IBM Replacing 7,800 Human Jobs with AI, Including Human Resources*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()