Brace Yourselves: AI Said to Be Capable of Cutting Millions of White-Collar Jobs in the Near Future
Jakarta, VIVA – The development of artificial intelligence (AI) is accelerating rapidly and is beginning to replace various professional tasks in the office sector. From report preparation to customer service, many functions can now be performed by automated systems.
Amid this trend, a serious warning has come from Andrew Yang, entrepreneur and former United States presidential candidate.
In a report cited from Business Insider, Yang predicted that millions of white-collar workers in the United States are at risk of being “eliminated” within the next 12 to 18 months due to the accelerating adoption of AI. He believes AI will increasingly take over responsibilities currently handled by mid-level office professionals.
Call centre workers, marketing staff, software developers, and other skilled employees are among the groups considered vulnerable or at risk. Yang described the coming changes as a “mass hollowing out” of white-collar employment.
Discussing the extremely rapid integration of AI across various industries, Yang emphasised that many companies are adopting automation far more quickly than workers realise.
He highlighted that tasks previously considered safe because they involved analytical thinking, writing skills, or technical decision-making can now be handled by generative AI systems. These systems are capable of compiling reports, writing code, reviewing contracts, and answering customer service queries fluently.
“This wave of automation will push millions of white-collar workers out of their jobs in the near future,” said Andrew Yang, as quoted from The Economic Times on Friday, 20 February 2026.
He also warned that when one company begins implementing major efficiencies, all its competitors will follow suit. Yang assessed that the mass shift towards automation has the potential to create a domino effect on the economy.
If millions of people lose their jobs within a short period, consumer spending could drop drastically, the housing market could weaken, and tax revenues could decline. Ultimately, local economies across various regions could be affected.
To mitigate the negative impact of AI-based automation, Andrew Yang reiterated his support for universal basic income. In addition, he advocated for workforce retraining programmes and the imposition of taxes on AI companies that derive substantial profits from automation.