AI pioneer Yoshua Bengio, a Turing Award-winning scientist, has issued a stark warning: it’s only “a matter of time” before artificial intelligence wipes out every job, including trade roles like plumbing. Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Bengio stressed that cognitive jobs are already under imminent threat
Main Story: Bengio’s Sobering Outlook on AI and Employment
Professor Yoshua Bengio, one of the world’s most-cited computer scientists and a key architect of modern AI, has sounded an alarm about the future of work. After four decades of pioneering research, Bengio now believes that AI’s rapid evolution will eventually replace all forms of human labor.
On Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast, Bengio explained that “cognitive jobs”—roles performed behind a keyboard—will be the first casualties, but even traditionally “safe” trades like plumbing may not escape automation. He emphasized that unless scientific progress hits an unforeseen barrier, AI systems will continue to grow smarter, eroding the need for human workers across industries
🔑 Key Highlights & Notable Updates
• First in Line: Desk-based “cognitive jobs” are most vulnerable to AI-driven automation.
• Trade Jobs at Risk: Even manual roles like plumbing could eventually be replaced.
• Global Impact: Bengio compared AI’s disruption to the Industrial Revolution, but on a far larger scale.
• Ethical Concerns: He has shifted from building AI to warning about its societal consequences.
• Urgency: Bengio insists policymakers and societies must prepare for massive labor market upheaval.
Major Takeaways
• AI’s trajectory suggests universal job displacement is inevitable.
• Preparation and adaptation are critical—governments, businesses, and workers must rethink economic structures.
• Bengio’s warning reflects growing unease among AI pioneers about the technology they helped create.
Sources: Yahoo News, Ground News