AI set to replace most jobs by 2045 except three roles, expert warns
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Adam Dorr, Director of Research at RethinkX, predicts a sweeping transformation of the global workforce by 2045.
In an interview with The Guardian, Dorr warns that surging advancements in artificial intelligence and robotics may render the vast majority of current human jobs obsolete within two decades.
Dorr says that “Costs are improving consistently, capabilities are improving consistently. We’ve seen that pattern before. If I can get the same thing or better for the same or lower cost, switching is a no-brainer. We’re the horses, we’re the film cameras.”
Which sectors will survive?
Dorr explains that sectors dominated by routine cognitive tasks and predictable workflows are most at risk. As AI becomes more sophisticated and affordable, he suggests, it will outperform human workers in terms of quality and efficiency across nearly every field.
Despite this bleak landscape, Dorr identifies a trio of professions likely to remain beyond the reach of automation, including politicians, sex workers, and ethicists.
These roles, he notes, demand deep emotional intelligence, ethical judgment, and human trust—qualities that machines may struggle to replicate.
Still, Dorr cautions that even these surviving sectors “are nowhere near enough to employ 4 billion people.”
Risks and the path forward
Dorr warns that mass unemployment could trigger severe social and economic inequality unless new economic systems are implemented swiftly.
However, he also envisions a new era of “super-abundance” in which machines fulfill most human needs, thereby liberating people from traditional labor.
“Machines that can think are here, and their capabilities are expanding day by day with no end in sight. We don’t have that long to get ready for this. We know it’s going to be tumultuous,” Dorr says.
Similarly, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei previously warned that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and send the United States’ unemployment rate as high as 20% within the next five years.
A report from the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) revealed that AI could affect 40% of jobs globally, while billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban believed that AI’s impact will be limited to simple tasks.
