AI tools are becoming powerful enough to finish complex office tasks in a fraction of the time they once required. Ark Invest founder and CEO Cathie Wood says her team recently witnessed this first-hand when an employee used the AI system Claude to complete several automation projects that had been pending for months.
Speaking in a video uploaded on Ark Invest’s YouTube channel, Wood described the experience as a defining moment for AI inside the workplace. According to her, the situation reminded her of the early days of personal computers in the 1980s, when people gathered around a desk to see what the new machines could do. Back then, the first personal computers were fairly basic. Wood recalled how the earliest systems were capable of only simple calculations such as addition and subtraction. Yet over the years, those machines went on to change how businesses operate and how work is done inside offices.
Ark Invest finance team member uses Claude to automate months of pending work
Wood believes the team recently experienced a similar moment with AI when a member of Ark Invest’s finance team began using Claude to work through a list of automation tasks.
The employee, she said, had been planning several automation projects for about six months. Instead of completing them one by one over time, he decided to test whether Claude could handle the work. The results came much faster than anyone in the office expected.
“Someone on our finance team was just blown away by how quickly he was able to automate all of these automation projects that he had lined up over the past six months,” Wood said while describing the incident.
The employee carried out the work independently while the firm continues to use Palantir’s systems for its operations. According to Wood, the speed and quality of the output surprised everyone watching. The AI tool produced structured outputs such as tables and graphics that looked polished and ready to use. Team members even checked some of the calculations manually to make sure the numbers were correct.
“Everyone around him was shocked at how beautiful the graphics were, the tables and how perfect they were,” Wood said, adding that even after cross-checking the additions, subtractions and percentages, the results remained accurate.
For Wood, the moment reminded her of how early personal computers first entered offices more than four decades ago. At the time, people were fascinated by what the machines could do, even though their capabilities were limited. Over time, those machines became central to almost every workplace. Wood believes AI systems could bring a similar change in how tasks are handled in the years ahead.
Ark Invest CEO says rising productivity could mean fewer workers are needed
One outcome of these improvements could be a sharp rise in productivity. If companies are able to complete more work in less time, they may not need the same number of employees for certain tasks. Wood pointed to recent employment data in the United States while discussing this possibility. She noted that job figures have been revised downward several times even though overall economic output has not been reduced by the same amount.
When this happens, she explained, it often means that workers and companies are producing more output per person. In simple terms, the same work is getting done with fewer people involved.
“If you revise down employment in order to get the same amount of GDP productivity has to have increased,” Wood said.
Her firm has long argued that technological innovation, especially artificial intelligence, could lead to a noticeable rise in productivity. According to Wood, productivity growth that has hovered around roughly 2 per cent in recent years could potentially move closer to 5 per cent if new technologies continue improving at a rapid pace.
Higher productivity can also influence the wider economy. Wood said that when companies are able to produce goods and services more efficiently, the pressure on prices often eases.
While markets have faced periods of volatility due to geopolitical tensions, government shutdown fears and other global events, Wood believes productivity gains driven by technology remain an important factor supporting economic activity. If tools like Claude continue improving at this pace, Wood suggests that the way many routine office tasks are handled could look very different in the coming years and fewer humans may be needed to complete the same work.
