Every day, it feels like we wake up one step closer to an apocalypse. We are bombarded with countless headlines about artificial intelligence (AI) innovations and seem resigned to the inevitable replacement of humanity. But is this concern justified? When will this singularity become a reality?
AI as a field of research dates back to the 1956 Dartmouth Summer Research Project, where machines were described as having the potential to simulate every aspect of learning or the features of intelligence. However, fears of a singularity weren’t widespread until the 1980s, after a string of novels raised concerns that AI could take control of human agency. For more than 45 years, we have feared this cyclical change, but for 45 years, we’ve also adapted, which questions the validity of this distress.
Throughout history, there have been numerous cases of job distress. One example is the story of automated teller machines (ATMs) and bank tellers. After ATMs were introduced, it was widely believed that bank tellers would be of no use. However, this was far from the truth. Since the first ATM integration in the late 1960s, the number of bank tellers employed has steadily increased. The task shifts simply made it cheaper to manage a bank and created a demand for more banks and bank tellers.
The implementation of ATMs shows how inventions don’t always live up to the anticipated fears, and technology is instead used to sustain and improve job opportunities. This is directly applicable to AI. Despite major differences in their technological applications, both ATMs and AI were directed towards automating low-risk, predictable tasks, with AI expanding into medium-risk and less predictable tasks.
Ever since video generative models like Sora AI launched in 2024, AI has been positioned to disrupt animation jobs by automating specific art styles. According to a May 2024 survey by Harris X, 56% of media and entertainment workers believed animators would face major impacts from AI within the next two years.
Nearly two years later, the industry has experienced no significant transformations from AI. In fact, animation remains a sustainable career.
Recently, after closing a $1 billion equity investment with Disney for licensing on March 24, Sora AI announced the discontinuation of its app and application programming interface (API) because of extremely unsustainable costs resulting in a low return on investment (ROI). If AI were really the next big thing for the animation industry, this wouldn’t have happened. Instead, the innovation simply created unnecessary stress.
Still, while AI hasn’t fundamentally changed jobs in some industries, it has transformed others.
Like animation, computer science has been marked as a field that AI would take over since the public launch of AI. According to an Anthropic research study on their Claude AI model, Claude can currently complete 33% of all tasks in computer science and math occupational categories, with 75% theoretical coverage of computer programmers. This means that computer science is the most AI-exposed job.
Although computer science is the backbone of AI, tasks such as code generation and debugging are already being automated, according to a Johns Hopkins research article. As a result, the profession has increased emphasis on hybrid skill sets, requiring workers to combine their traditional computer science skills with proficiency in machine learning, AI ethics, and data governance.
Even though the new demand for multiple skills seems like it would create more job opportunities, unlike with bank teller jobs, the number of computer science jobs appears to decline due to these role shifts.
According to a Stanford research study, workers ages 22-25 in the most AI-exposed jobs have experienced a 16% relative decline in employment, even after accounting for firm-level shocks.
Among college graduates ages 22-27, computer science and engineering majors are facing unemployment rates of 6.1% and 7.5%, respectively — double the rate of biology and art graduates (Singer). While the layoff numbers are alarming, research suggests these trends are short-term and a result of companies making irrational decisions when panicking over AI.
In 2023, an MIT study claimed AI implementation could increase worker performance by nearly 40% compared to workers who didn’t use the technology. A claim this bold from a well-established institution likely influenced some companies to begin layoffs and integrate AI. However, a 2026 National Bureau of Economic Research study surveying 6,000 senior business executives at firms in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Australia found that 89% reported AI had no impact on labor productivity. With one study reporting on AI’s potential impact and another on its reality, confusion about AI’s unclear implications in the workplace spread. Sonar found that among more than 1,100 developers, 96% don’t fully trust that AI-generated code is functionally correct. Without trust or improved workplace productivity, the industry’s failed shift to AI can be credited to companies panicking in the short term.
Due to the uncertainty surrounding AI, many believe their careers are threatened. However, I believe this distress is unfounded. Companies have laid off workers in pursuit of efficiency, but a productivity boost has yet to be seen.
As a result of fear, we’ve confused the current state of AI with its imagined potential. Yes, it is the first time in history that an invention rivals, or even surpasses, human intelligence, but we should not let fear dictate our decisions. Instead of panicking, we must embrace the change, rationally plan for the future, and evaluate new developments.
Only by living in unison — using AI and technology to their fullest potential — will society be able to truly distinguish reality from anticipation.
