AI isn't killing jobs, it's 'unbundling' them into lower-paid chunks

AI isn't killing jobs wholesale – it's quietly chipping away at them, one task at a time.

That's the gist of a new research paper making the rounds, which pushes back on the idea that more AI exposure automatically means fewer jobs. The authors argue the real question isn't how many tasks a model can do, but whether those tasks can actually be split out without breaking the role.

Analysts have long warned that automation could wipe out millions of jobs. One recent forecast put the number at 10.4 million US jobs gone by 2030, roughly 6 percent of the workforce. The implicit assumption behind those numbers is straightforward: if AI can do enough of what you do, you're toast.

This new paper – written by Luis Garicano, professor at the London School of Economics, along with Jin Li and Yanhui Wu, both at the University ...