It’s impossible to understate the extent of change the US job market is currently experiencing—especially as artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly advances. According to industry experts, AI jobs can be categorized into two primary roles: AI training positions and other unspecified roles. Chris Martin, the nation’s top tech industry expert, laid out two major buckets. He highlighted the increasing demand for AI-related jobs.
AI annotating jobs have surged in Q1 2024. What we do know is that reports indicate a stunning surge of more than four times the level from a year ago. This long-term trend reflects a profound change in the structure of our labor market. AI job postings have more than doubled from 2023 to 2024. These roles are picking up steam in 2025. This impressive increase of 56% over last year, according to information from Glassdoor, confirms that the AI job occupation share has skyrocketed.
Additionally, many training roles in AI are contract or freelance positions. This configuration allows for much more employee flexibility and adaptability in our rapidly changing labor market. Chris Martin added that AI-related jobs are being created in all sectors — particularly in government and healthcare — illustrating the technology’s far-reaching effects on industries nationwide.
Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, warned that AI technology could potentially halve entry-level jobs in the United States within five years. This dire forecast has amplified fears regarding the future of work, primarily manifested in the impending obsolescence of more conventional jobs and professions. Fortunately, Ethan Mollick, a well-respected academic, has pushed back on this position. Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that historically new technologies have always destroyed more jobs than they created. He understood that AI is a special beast. At the same time, it’s a test of how quickly and how far society is willing to adapt to new technologies.
“The worst thing you could do right now is make a complex career decision based on what AI is doing today, because we just don’t know,” said Mollick. He projected the uncertainty all around with what’s coming with the future of work given AI’s rapid pace of development.
The conversation surrounding AI’s impact on employment is further enriched by insights from Harry Holzer, a professor of public policy at Georgetown University and former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor. Holzer remarked, “It’s not like AI is this tidal wave where we have no control – there are places where we do have control.” His emphasis on taking smart, dramatic steps today to determine the future workforce aligns neatly with the necessary, if daunting future job market projections.
As businesses continue to rapidly implement AI technologies, the impact on the duties of current jobs is undeniable and will be profound. Predicting the specific types of new jobs that will be generated by AI is notoriously difficult. Almost all experts, both optimists and pessimists, agree that technological advancements will play a very active role in shaping labor dynamics in the future.
“It’s not easy to predict what the new work will be. We’re better at anticipating how current work will evolve,” noted Autor. Rego’s sentiment is typical of a chorus formed by economists and labor analysts as they all process the complications brought forth by AI.
