--- title: "Artificial Intelligence Is Coming to Steal Your High Paying Job, Experts Warn" description: "Artificial intelligence stands to be the first major, technology-driven shakeup to the white collar marketplace, experts say." date: "2023-01-21" modified: "2023-01-22" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/artificial-intelligence-steal-job" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "artificial intelligence" - "job market" - "the digest" --- # Artificial Intelligence Is Coming to Steal Your High Paying Job, Experts Warn ![Artificial intelligence stands to be the first major, technology-driven shakeup to the white collar marketplace, experts say.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Don't Remind Us For years, breakthroughs in automation have led to increasing instability for blue collar workers — particularly those in manufacturing — while those in white collar positions have remained mostly unfazed by the same anxieties. Until generative AI's breakthrough, that is. In what appears to be the first major, technology-driven shakeup to the white collar marketplace, artificial intelligence could well be poised to replace human workers in higher-paying, college-degree-requiring jobs. "Before, progress was linear and predictable. You figured out the steps and the computer followed them," MIT professor David Autor, an expert on employment and technological change, [told *The Atlantic's* Annie Lowery](). "It followed the procedure; it didn't learn and it didn't improvise." And that, of course, is where cutting-edge AI is starting to differ. After all, learning new tricks is the tech's Whole Thing — thus rendering what were once non-automatable jobs susceptible to mechanization after all. That's right, college grads: not even that wildly expensive degree can save you from the robots now. ## No One's Safe The expert sentiment isn't terribly surprising, especially in light of the [*CNET* drama]() that's unfolded this week. To recap: *CNET*, unbeknownst to its readers, had been stealthily using [very dumb]() generative AI to publish financial explainers, to [much dismay]() from human journalists. SEO spammers, on the other hand, [are thrilled]() to employ new text-generating AIs to pump out spam. And that's just journalism. AI stands to impact a number of historically white collar markets, in fields ranging from [computer science]() to [healthcare]() . If there's any bright spot, Autor does think that while artificial intelligence will certainly render a lot of human jobs moot, a lot of specialty positions, like reporting, will still be left to humans. "In many ways, AI will help people use expertise better," he told *The Atlantic*. "It means that we'll specialize more." Still, getting a "specialty" position in the first place is incredibly difficult in the first place, let alone without first holding a job in the entry-level positions that are most likely about to fall to machines first. And sure, the job market, over time, has always adapted to major technological changes. But as we move into a new unknown, you'd be forgiven for feeling uneasy. **READ MORE:** *[How ChatGPT Will Destabilize White-Collar Work]()* **More on a small win for human workers:** *[CNET and Bankrate Say They're Pausing AI-Generated Articles Until Negative Headlines Stop]()* ## 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]()