Financial Times columnist says AI is more likely to reshape creative work

In short: A Financial Times opinion column argues that AI is unlikely to wipe out creative jobs, but it will change what many creative workers do.

What's going on

Richard Florida, a professor known for writing about the “creative class,” says fears that AI will end careers for artists, writers, designers, and programmers are overblown. He points to a study that reported more than 200,000 job losses in media, film, and the arts in the last four years. But he says those losses have several causes, including a slowdown in streaming after the pandemic, the 2023 Hollywood strikes, and work moving overseas.

Florida compares today’s AI moment to earlier waves of technology. Manufacturing jobs shrank as machines took over more physical tasks, but work did not disappear, it shifted. He cites research using Swedish employment data suggesting most people still work in long established occupations, and technology tends to change those jobs rather than erase them.

He argues AI will likely take over more routine “desk work,” like first drafts and basic research (similar to a calculator handling the arithmetic so you can focus on the problem). A Stanford study is cited showing lower hiring rates for young workers in jobs most exposed to AI. Florida says some elite firms still hire, but increasingly value relationship building, leadership, and judgment.

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Florida warns that AI could make inequality worse, like social media already does for many creators, where a small number earn most of the money. He says the key question is whether AI tools help more people do creative work, or mostly increase rewards for the few who already have the biggest audiences and best connections.

Source: Financial Times