'AI Could Wipe Out 80 pct Of Jobs Soon, Even CEOs May Be Replaced'

Artificial intelligence is progressing at a pace that even its own creators are finding hard to keep up with. Now, one of the world’s leading AI experts Stuart Russell issued a stark warning. He said that up to 80 per cent of jobs could disappear, including some of the most respected and highly skilled roles.Speaking on the Diary of a CEO podcast, Russell said modern AI systems are already capable of performing pretty much everything we currently call work."It Takes a Robot Seven Seconds to Be a Better Surgeon," said Russell. He also highlighted how AI could disrupt healthcare, a field traditionally viewed as secure.“If you want to become a surgeon, it takes the robot seven seconds to learn how to be a surgeon that’s better than any human,"

he said.The implication is severe. Jobs that rely on precision, decision-making and deep expertise may be among the first to be overtaken by advanced AI systems.According to him, even top corporate leaders are not immune."Pity the poor CEO whose board says - unless you hand over your decision-making to the AI system, we’ll have to fire you because competitors with AI-powered CEOs are doing much better,” Russell warned.Even, Google’s Sundar Pichai recently suggested that a CEO’s role could eventually become one of the easier tasks for AI to take over.Russell believes societies are staring 80 per cent unemployment in the face, urging governments to prepare for the economic shock.Some experts, like Andrew Yang and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, predict millions of US jobs will be lost or transformed. Others including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Meta’s Yann LeCun argue AI will reshape work rather than eliminate it.But Russell’s viewpoint is among the most serious, suggesting that very few roles will remain untouched.The debate over AI-driven job loss has moved beyond speculation. AI systems today can write code, diagnose diseases, generate legal drafts, design products, and manage complex workflows, often faster and cheaper than humans.As companies rush to adopt these tools and governments struggle to catch up, the future of employment is becoming one of the most urgent global questions.