Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei just recently stirred the debate around AI and jobs, warning that AI could wipe out a large share of entry-level white-collar roles in the coming years. But almost at the same time, Aaron Levie, CEO of Box, has offered a sharply different view, arguing that AI may actually create more demand for skilled engineers and domain experts rather than shrinking opportunities.
Amodei’s concerns come at a moment when the job market is already showing signs of strain. Fresh data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released in early February showed that job openings in the US fell to 6.54 million at the end of December, the lowest level since September 2020. The figures added weight to Amodei’s warning that AI-driven disruption may be arriving faster than many expect.
Only weeks earlier, Amodei had laid out his thinking in a 20,000-word essay titled The Adolescence of Technology. In it, he made one of his most direct predictions yet, writing, “AI will disrupt 50 per cent of entry-level white-collar jobs over 1–5 years, while also thinking we may have AI that is more capable than everyone in only 1–2 years.” For a labour market already facing uncertainty, the statement landed heavily.
Amodei, who co-founded Anthropic in 2021, has repeatedly argued that the speed of AI progress sets it apart from past technological changes. “The pace of progress in AI is much faster than for previous technological revolutions,” he wrote, adding that this speed could make adaptation “unusually painful” for workers. According to him, the challenge is not just about specific roles disappearing, but about how quickly people may be forced to rethink careers altogether.
In the same essay, Amodei described AI as something far broader than task-specific automation. He warned that the technology is acting as a “general labor substitute for humans,” capable of touching professions across “law to finance to consulting.”
Box CEO says opposite, suggests AI will help increase demand for engineers
However, not everyone in the tech industry agrees with Amodei’s bleak outlook. Writing on X, Box CEO Aaron Levie argued that higher productivity from AI could flip the equation in several professions. He suggested that when AI tools allow experts to increase their output “by an order of magnitude,” demand for those experts may actually rise rather than fall.
Levie pointed to software engineering as a clear example. He explained that, until now, many companies simply could not afford to hire engineers because an individual engineer’s impact was limited. With AI agents boosting productivity five or even ten times, building software teams becomes feasible for far more organisations. As a result, he believes demand for engineers could expand into sectors that previously had little or no access to such talent.
According to Levie, this effect will not be limited to tech firms. IT teams may need more engineers as they automate internal workflows. Pharmaceutical companies could require more software talent for complex data analysis. Even traditional physical products are becoming more digital, pulling in engineering expertise along the way. Small startups that once had no realistic chance of building sophisticated software may now be able to do so.
He extended the argument beyond engineering as well. Levie said creative fields like video editing could see higher demand at the top end, as cheaper production enables more high-quality content. Legal work, too, could expand as contracts become more complex and specialised. “There has never been a better time in history to be an expert in your field,” he wrote, adding that demand for deep expertise is likely to grow.
