JPMorgan Executive Says AI Will Upskill Workers Instead of Replacing Them

Stephen Parker, co-head of global investment strategy at JPMorgan Private Bank, said companies are realizing AI has the potential to upskill workers rather than make them obsolete. Parker made the comments in a recent interview with Business Insider.

He pointed to a chart in JPMorgan's mid-year outlook report that showed software job listings growing faster than listings in the broader labor market.

Parker noted that headlines about potential unemployment spikes from AI have not matched observed conditions. JPMorgan's report stated that market pricing for human labor and GPUs, along with labor-market evidence, suggest agentic AI models still cannot outperform knowledge workers.

The bank also reported that job postings for forward-deployed engineers have risen 700 percent over the past year. Parker said only 30 percent of Americans currently view AI favorably, according to recent surveys.

JPMorgan's mid-year outlook noted that past industrial transitions driven by technology have created more jobs than they eliminated. Parker said the data align with other findings that certain labor segments are expanding despite AI adoption.