Economists Warn AI Threatens Tens of Millions of Back-Office Jobs
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 10
Economists Warn AI Threatens Tens of Millions of Back-Office Jobs
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 10
Summary
Customer service representatives, payroll clerks, bookkeepers and HR staff — not just software engineers — are emerging as the white-collar workers economists see as most exposed to AI disruption.
Northwestern and GovAI researchers say exposure measures based on actual AI use overstate risk for programmers, while workforce-wide analysis pushes routine clerical and frontline office roles to the top.
About $50,000-a-year medical records jobs and similar middle-class roles are especially sensitive because they often do not require college degrees, are heavily held by women, and can be done remotely.
Economists say the bigger danger is not immediate mass unemployment but weaker recovery after displacement, with older, less-educated and lower-income workers facing fewer options and less support.
The broader concern is that AI could erase gateway office jobs that once led to better careers, leaving workers stranded in low-wage work even if new jobs eventually emerge.