JPMorgan CEO says AI has displaced some bank workers

In short: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said AI has already replaced some jobs at the bank, and he wants businesses and governments to prepare before bigger disruptions hit.

What's going on

Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said that artificial intelligence has already displaced some workers at the bank. He said those employees were offered other roles because they had skills the bank could use elsewhere.

Dimon shared the message at a JPMorgan event and at the World Economic Forum in Davos. His main point was that leaders should not wait until large numbers of people lose jobs before making plans.

He said the bank uses a “large language model,” which is a type of AI that can write and summarize text like a very fast assistant. Dimon said about 150,000 employees use it each week. He also said JPMorgan expects it may need fewer people over the next five years because AI can help workers get more done.

Dimon warned that if AI changes happen too quickly, society could face serious problems, including civil unrest. He pointed to the need for safeguards, even suggesting that governments might consider limits on companies replacing large groups of workers at once.

What to watch

JPMorgan says it has “huge redeployment” plans, meaning it aims to move people into new roles and retrain them instead of doing large layoffs. The bigger question is whether other companies will do the same, or whether AI-related job cuts will speed up faster than workers can be helped into new work.

Source: NYTimes