Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya said artificial intelligence (AI) could reshape the U.S. economy by significantly boosting growth and doubling incomes for hundreds of thousands of workers through large-scale job upskilling.
AI-Driven Wage Gains And GDP Surge Outlook
On Tuesday, in a post on X, the venture capitalist wrote, "The empirical scorecard on AI thus far is very positive," saying AI could increase U.S. GDP by 25% to 50%, expand scientific knowledge and "up-leveling labor."
He pointed to recent corporate efforts, including Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), as an example of how AI-driven training could reshape the workforce.
Palihapitiya suggested companies could take a median-income worker earning about $50,000, train them using AI-enabled systems, and move them into jobs paying $100,000 or more.
"If they can take a US median income worker ($50k), train them and then place them into a $100k+ job it's transformational," he wrote.
Palihapitiya also suggested that if such programs were scaled across major AI infrastructure investments, "this is upwards of 1MM jobs," referring to one million positions.
He added, "Doubling the median income of 1MM Americans is nothing short of an economic miracle."
AI Reshapes Jobs
On Monday, former White House AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks said the AI data center boom had created a shortage of skilled trades workers, boosting demand for electricians, fiber technicians and other blue-collar roles.
He pointed to Meta's $115 million training program as a model to fill labor gaps.
Earlier, Anthropic said it had been increasingly using AI systems to help develop its own models and described the emerging possibility of "recursive self-improvement," where AI helps build future AI systems, though it said the outcome was not guaranteed.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) CEO Jim Farley said AI was more likely to replace white-collar jobs than factory work, arguing that automation was already handling office tasks while physical labor in manufacturing and infrastructure remained essential.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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