AI systems are now writing code, diagnosing diseases, designing buildings, and even generating art. Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Google DeepMind, and autonomous robots are reshaping industries once thought immune to automation. Goldman Sachs has estimated that approximately 25% of the global labor market could be lost to AI, sparking fears of a job apocalypse.
Will AI usher in a new era of prosperity and leisure or a future of unemployment and inequality?
Some of those concerned foresee a future where AI becomes so efficient and productive that nearly every job with human laborers will be at risk, generating fears of mass unemployment. Other people see a tool that is transformative and can augment human labor. Even though there may be disruptions to segments of the job market, history has shown that even in the wake of large-scale shifts—such as the industrial and information revolutions—the individual drive to work remained powerful.
As AI is being implemented into our daily lives, we debate the question: Will AI Make Work Obsolete?
This debate was produced in partnership with Johns Hopkins University.
This debate was recorded on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, at 6:45 PM at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center, 555 Pennsylvania Ave NW, in Washington, DC.