The question of whether AI and robots will replace humans in the workplace has been a growing concern. However, in a recent appearance on CBS News' "60 Minutes," Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang offered some reassurance.
Job Security In The AI Age: During the interview, host Bill Whitaker spoke with Brett Adcock, CEO of Nvidia-funded Figure AI, about the company's robot prototype, Figure 01.
Adcock emphasized the robot's capabilities, including physical tasks like walking and reasoning. When prompted for a healthier option, the robot even managed to pick an orange from a basket of mixed snacks.
Adcock's remarks sparked concerns about human job displacement, prompting Whitaker to ask Huang about his "worst fears" regarding AI. Huang responded with a focus on companies benefiting from increased productivity through AI.
"The workers are for companies," Huang explained. "And so companies, when they become more productive, earnings increase. I've never seen one company that had earnings increase and not hire more people."
While acknowledging potential job obsolescence, Huang emphasized the continued value of human judgment. "I believe that you still want humans in the loop, because we have good judgment, because there are circumstances that the machines are not — just not going to understand."
The Broader Conversation: The "man vs. machine" debate has intensified with the rise of AI, particularly since the popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT in early 2023. Experts offer differing perspectives on AI's impact. Karim Lakhani, a Harvard Business School professor, who specializes in AI said in a 2023 interview, "AI is not going to replace humans, but humans with AI are going to replace humans without AI."
Mark Murphy, head of U.S. Enterprise Software Research at JP Morgan, sees AI as amplifying human productivity and not as something that would displace humans.
"We see the potential for a massive workforce productivity boom over the next one to three years, which could affect the shape of the economic cycle. There could also be mass-scale white-collar job realignment four to eight years from now," he said.
These viewpoints align with Ark Investment Management CEO Cathie Wood's predictions from 2022 when she said artificial general intelligence (AGI) can significantly boost economic growth.
Market's Take on AI: The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (NASDAQ:AIQ) closed Monday's session up 0.34% at $32.76, and is up over 5% this year, indicating continued investor interest in the AI sector, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo courtesy: Nvidia Corp on Flickr