Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei Discusses AI Impact on Jobs and Productivity

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told an audience in Lower Manhattan that automating most tasks in a job can lead to higher overall productivity rather than reduced employment. “If you automate 90% of the job, then everyone does the 10% of the job,” Amodei said.

” The statement came during a press briefing on financial services where Amodei appeared onstage with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Amodei referenced arguments made by University of Chicago economist Alex Imas and Apollo Global Management’s Torsten Slok.

He invoked the Jevons Paradox, the 19th-century observation that efficiency improvements in coal use led to greater total consumption rather than less. Applied to artificial intelligence, the paradox suggests that if AI makes lawyers ten times more productive, legal services become cheaper and demand increases, potentially leading to more lawyers rather than fewer.

Dimon made a similar point by citing historical examples from agriculture, electricity and the internet. “The capitalist society is very good at recreating jobs and recreating things,” Dimon said.

Amodei also referred to Amdahl’s Law from computer science, which states that a system’s speed is limited by its slowest component. He noted that even if AI automates most of a job, the remaining human element can become the binding constraint on further gains.

“You know, when technology kind of increases the pie, like the economy is very good at kind of – again, it’s related to kind of the Amdahl’s Law, Jevons’ Paradox,” Amodei said. “Like, things are flexible. Things are fungible. ” The Anthropic CEO added that AI is moving faster than previous technologies.

He said this rapid pace could strain systems and produce “weird behaviors and this big disruption” before markets and workers adjust. Amodei previously warned that AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar knowledge work within years.

Both executives acknowledged that productivity gains occur at an aggregate level and may not automatically benefit every worker. Amodei stated that companies face a choice between doing the same work with fewer resources, which can lead to layoffs, or expanding output with existing staff, which requires creativity.

He and Dimon endorsed government-funded retraining programs and wage-reassurance measures. Dimon pointed to trade adjustment assistance after NAFTA as a model that did not work well because it was not set up effectively. “It didn’t work [with NAFTA] because it wasn’t set up right, because it made it too hard to get the benefits,” Dimon said.

” The briefing took place as Anthropic continues to develop AI systems and navigate regulatory and legal matters. Amodei’s comments reflect an evolving perspective on how quickly labor markets can adapt to rapid technological change.