Geoffrey Hinton, the “Godfather of AI,” warns AI could wipe out white-collar jobs fast, but blue-collar work might be safer — for now.
Hinton, 78, Nobel Prize winner and emeritus professor at University of Toronto, told the Diary of a CEO podcast Monday that AI will “replace everybody” doing “mundane intellectual labor.” He explained this means fewer humans doing tasks once requiring many.
He singled out paralegals as at high risk, said call center jobs should be “terrified,” but thinks physical jobs like plumbing will last longer. 
Geoffrey Hinton stated:
"I think for mundane intellectual labor, AI is just going to replace everybody."
"A person and an AI assistant" will do the work of "ten people previously."
"I’d say it’s going to be a long time before it [AI] is as good at physical manipulation."
"So, a good bet would be to be a plumber."
Hinton also pushed back on the idea that AI will create many new jobs. He said only those with very advanced skills will find work AI can’t handle.
Tech hiring backs him up. A recent SignalFire report found big tech firms like Meta and Google cut new graduate hires by 25% from 2023 to 2024, now only 7% of hires — AI a major factor.
Wall Street is feeling the pressure too. Morgan Stanley announced plans in March to lay off 2,000 employees, partially to replace workers with AI. Bloomberg Intelligence warns up to 200,000 jobs could vanish across 93 major banks like JPMorgan and Citi over five years.
The AI job shakeup is underway, with white-collar roles the most exposed. Blue-collar jobs? For now, safer but not guaranteed.
