Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warns AI could cost jobs if innovation stalls
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said AI will boost productivity but might cause job losses if industries run out of new ideas.
Huang made the comments in a CNN interview with Fareed Zakaria, responding to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei’s recent warning that AI could slash half of entry-level white-collar jobs and push unemployment to 20% within five years. 
Huang’s take: productivity gains lead to job loss only when innovation dries up. As long as companies keep inventing, jobs and productivity can grow together.
“If the world runs out of ideas, then productivity gains translates to job loss,” Huang said.
“The fundamental thing is this, do we have more ideas left in society? And if we do, if we’re more productive, we’ll be able to grow.”
A 2024 Adecco survey backs fears around job cuts, with 41% of CEOs expecting AI to reduce workforce size over the next five years. The World Economic Forum also found 41% of employers plan to downsize due to automation by 2030.
Huang defended AI’s track record: employment and productivity have increased alongside technological advances over centuries.
“Everybody’s jobs will be affected. Some jobs will be lost. Many jobs will be created and what I hope is that the productivity gains that we see in all the industries will lift society,” he said.
“AI is the greatest technology equalizer we’ve ever seen. It lifts the people who don’t understand technology.”
Nvidia’s chips power AI models for giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, putting it at the center of the AI boom. Huang also said his own role has changed due to AI—but he’s still doing his job.
AI automation is already shifting how work gets done. Over half of large US firms plan to automate tasks like invoice processing, according to a 2024 Duke University and Federal Reserve survey.
Fareed Zakaria’s full interview with Jensen Huang airs Sunday at 10 a.m. ET/PT on CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS.
