• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
TechFuture of Work

25-year-old Anthropic employee says she may only have 3 years left to work because AI will replace her

Orianna Rosa Royle
By
Orianna Rosa Royle
Orianna Rosa Royle
Associate Editor, Success
Down Arrow Button Icon
Orianna Rosa Royle
By
Orianna Rosa Royle
Orianna Rosa Royle
Associate Editor, Success
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 4, 2024, 7:39 AM ET
Several robots working on laptops
“Anything that a remote worker can do, AI will do better,” warns Avital Balwit, the chief of staff at Anthropic.Andriy Onufriyenko—Getty Images

It’s not just entry-level workers who have never experienced a tech boom who are fearing their looming replacement thanks to AI. Now even C-suite executives in the know are predicting their demise. 

Recommended Video

Avital Balwit, the chief of staff at Anthropic, one of AI’s hottest startups, has joined the growing list of senior tech professionals to weigh in on our existential crisis since Geoffrey Hinton, the “Godfather of AI,” decided he had to “blow the whistle” on the technology he helped develop.

“I am 25. The next three years might be the last few years that I work,” the Gen Zer wrote in a personal essay in Palladium. “I am not ill, nor am I becoming a stay-at-home mom, nor have I been so financially fortunate to be on the brink of voluntary retirement.”

Instead, working at the Google and Amazon-backed $18-billion-plus AI firm has cemented her belief about the future: Her job, along with most others, is destined for obsolescence—and anyone who thinks otherwise is in denial.

“I stand at the edge of a technological development that seems likely, should it arrive, to end employment as I know it,” Balwit explained.

“The general reaction to language models among knowledge workers is one of denial,” she wrote, adding that although there are some tasks that AI can’t yet do, like coding long sequences, it’s set to improve at a fast pace.

“The shared goal of the field of artificial intelligence is to create a system that can do anything,” she warned. “I expect us to reach it soon.” 

Anything that a remote worker can do, AI will do better

Research shows that the world of work is in for some serious upheaval. 

The investment bank Goldman Sachs estimated that AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs globally in the coming years.

In the U.K., the government is preparing for a scenario in which advances in automation will lead to increased unemployment and poverty by 2030. 

Meanwhile, a McKinsey study has warned that AI could force nearly 12 million U.S. workers to switch jobs by 2030—with admin, manufacturing, and sales workers among those most likely to be impacted.

“Given the current trajectory of the technology, I expect AI to first excel at any kind of online work,” Balwit echoes. “Essentially anything that a remote worker can do, AI will do better.” 

The jobs that AI will kill first? Copywriting, tax preparation, customer service, software development, and contract law.

“Generally, tasks that involve reading, analyzing, and synthesizing information, and then generating content based on it, seem ripe for replacement by language models,” Balwit warns.

Even if everyone is ultimately destined for unemployment, she predicts that those who have ditched corporate careers and are going into the skilled trades can expect to enjoy labor participation for “much longer than five more years.”

“Regulated industries like medicine or the civil service will have human involvement for longer, but even there, I expect an increasingly small number of human workers who are increasingly supplemented with AI systems working alongside them,” Balwit adds.

Mass unemployment could lead to an aristocratic life for all

Balwit’s not the first to predict that AI will eliminate the need to work at all.

“There will come a point where no job is needed,” Elon Musk similarly told Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. “You can have a job if you want to have a job, for personal satisfaction, but the AI will be able to do everything.”

Similarly, Balwit paints an optimistic picture of how unemployment could look in years to come, and it’s good news for those who’d love to live like the “ton” in Bridgerton or Downton Abbey’s Crawley family.

“In the early modern era, landed gentry and similar were essentially unemployed,” she says. 

Instead of commuting to a desk five days a week, they filled their days with hobbies, balls, and time with their loved ones.

“If we do manage to obtain a world where people have their material needs met but also have no need to work, aristocrats could be a relevant comparison,” Balwit concluded.

Fortune has contacted Balwit for comment.

Join our exclusive webinar on May 28, featuring tech leaders from Orange, Mars, Reckitt, and Saint-Gobain. Apply to attend and receive Fortune’s editorial takeaways.
About the Author
Orianna Rosa Royle
By Orianna Rosa RoyleAssociate Editor, Success
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Orianna Rosa Royle is the Success associate editor at Fortune, overseeing careers, leadership, and company culture coverage. She was previously the senior reporter at Management Today, Britain's longest-running publication for CEOs. 

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Anu Madgavkar, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute
AIWorkplace Innovation Summit
McKinsey partner says up to 50% of work hours could be transformed within the next 5 years
By Emma BurleighMay 21, 2026
12 minutes ago
allbirds
AILayoffs
Allbirds’ 600% stock surge says a lot about how ‘AI washing’ became the new ‘greenwashing’
By Suvrat Dhanorkar and The ConversationMay 21, 2026
3 hours ago
musk
InvestingIPOs
‘We do not want humans to have the same fate as dinosaurs’: SpaceX IPO reads like Hollywood fantasy version of the future
By Bernard Condon and The Associated PressMay 21, 2026
3 hours ago
murdoch
Big TechMedia
James Murdoch vows ‘ambitious journalism and agenda-setting conversations’ as he takes over New York, Vox brands
By Jocelyn Noveck and The Associated PressMay 21, 2026
3 hours ago
Traders work after a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.
InvestingMarkets
Wall Street thinks there’s a chance the S&P 500 could push 20% higher by 2027
By Eleanor PringleMay 21, 2026
5 hours ago
Elon Musk sits with his fists together, looking up.
NewslettersTerm Sheet
SpaceX’s IPO filing is full of surprises
By Allie GarfinkleMay 21, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
1 day ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
4 days ago
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
Workplace Culture
Dr. Bernice King on why companies that walked back DEI were never truly committed: 'If you retreat that quick…that reveals who you really are'
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
2 days ago
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
Workplace Culture
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
By Sydney LakeMay 20, 2026
20 hours ago
Current price of oil as of May 20, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 20, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 20, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.