(TJV) Dario Amodei, CEO of leading AI firm Anthropic, is sounding the alarm on a potential wave of job losses driven by artificial intelligence. He warns that professions in sectors like tech, finance, law, and consulting could see widespread disruption, with up to half of all entry-level white-collar jobs at risk of disappearing.

In an interview with Axios, Amodei cautioned that most U.S. lawmakers are largely unaware of how quickly this transformation could unfold. He emphasized that both AI developers and government officials need to stop downplaying the implications of AI advancement, predicting that job displacement could result in a 10–20% rise in unemployment within the next one to five years.

“As the people building this technology, we have a responsibility to be upfront about what’s coming,” he said. “It’s not something that’s really on the public’s radar.”

Amodei described a concerning trio of current trends: AI companies are continuing to advance capabilities at a rapid pace; the U.S. government is hesitating to act, fearing geopolitical disadvantages or public backlash; and the general public remains unaware of the threat to their employment.

He believes that once AI systems become capable of matching or exceeding human performance, businesses will rapidly replace workers to cut costs — a shift he expects could happen “almost overnight.” While AI tools are currently assisting human workers, Amodei warns they will soon begin taking over those jobs entirely — potentially within just a few years.

The trend is already beginning to materialize. According to Axios, numerous CEOs across different industries are actively strategizing how to use AI to replace human labor. “Every single one of them is aggressively planning how to scale AI tools to reduce headcount,” the outlet reported.

Amodei, however, insists the worst-case outcomes are not inevitable. He outlined several steps that could mitigate the damage:

1. Public Awareness: The first step, he says, is to clearly communicate to workers that certain career paths may no longer be stable in the age of AI.

2. Transparency: Both tech companies and the government need to be more open about how quickly AI is expected to impact the workforce.

3. Education and Adaptation: Workers should start integrating AI into their jobs now and learn how to work alongside these tools to better prepare for the transition.

4. Legislative Engagement: Amodei recommends establishing a dedicated congressional committee on AI or, at the very least, conducting briefings to ensure lawmakers at all levels understand the stakes.

5. Policy Planning: He also calls for serious discussions about how to support workers if the economy becomes dominated by AI technologies.

Amodei noted that Anthropic has already begun measuring the impact of its own language models through a proprietary “Economic Index,” tracking how their use varies across different professions — a move he hopes will set an example for other companies.

Ultimately, Amodei stressed that while AI’s progress can’t be stopped, there’s still time to prepare for its social and economic consequences — but only if action is taken now.