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Productivity (incl. AI)

AI | The Future of Work in the Age of AI (ft. Harvard Study & Goldman Sachs Exchange, Eric Schmidt, Jeff Bezos, etc.)

Discover how AI is reshaping the future of work. From JPMorgan’s AI-powered megabank plans to top generative AI use cases, explore workforce shifts, retraining, and what business leaders need to know for 2030 and beyond.

AI | The Future of Work in the Age of AI (ft. Harvard Study & Goldman Sachs Exchange, Eric Schmidt, Jeff Bezos, etc.)

Hi All,

Today, I want to talk about the future of work in the age of AI. You’ve probably seen my other post on what I gathered and heard during the summer across the US, China, the UK, Europe, and South Korea regarding the use of AI, and how each region or country seems to be living in its own parallel universe. Since last year, some of the US based global asset management CIOs have been sharing their insights with me on the impact of AI in their daily workflows, hiring, and future workforces. Obama also mentioned that the workforce (both blue and white collars) will be rearranged in the next 5–10 years. Now, it is becoming a reality.

One anecdote I heard: looking at the AI talent pools in Silicon Valley and China, one AI professor from a prestigious university noted that the future AI race is pretty much between Chinese and Chinese Americans. Also, South Korea is already living in the future. This Summer, my friend got a 4-hour surgery done by a robot. It wasn't a minor surgery (she is fully recovered and doing well). One of the most prestigious top law firms stopped hiring new analysts this year. AI is already being used by many people there, and it is assumed that you use AI from school to work.

During my visit to Seoul this Summer, one morning, I was surprised to receive reports on daily global market updates (the ones that macro traders and portfolio managers receive every morning before the markets open) by Mirae Asset (one of the top asset managers) that were generated by AI and reviewed by humans with a disclaimer.

I would love to hear from you as well. What are some changes you are seeing in your industry or at your organization during this transitional period of AI? I asked ChatGPT to help me make sense of the future of work and write a blog post about it—below is the output. I made some twists and provided inputs and background materials for direction, but you can safely assume this was written by AI. What an interesting experiment!

Executive Summary

  • AI is moving mainstream: Major firms are embedding generative AI into daily workflows, with measurable gains in speed, cost savings, and productivity.
  • Finance as a case study:
  • Use cases today (Harvard/Filtered Top-100 Report):
    • Personal productivity (scheduling, goal-tracking).
    • Customer service and client interactions.
    • Coding and technical assistance.
    • Investment research, compliance, and reporting.
    • Therapy, companionship, and learning support.
  • Workforce restructuring is underway:
    • By 2030, finance and other sectors expect reduced headcount as AI automates operations and routine tasks.
    • Early reports show cuts of 3–10% in banking operations; other industries (tech, food delivery, online platforms) are announcing similar reductions.
  • Upskilling over layoffs (for now):
    • Surveys (NY Fed, BoE) show most firms are retraining staff to work with AI rather than cutting immediately.
    • However, many companies already admit they will “hire less” in the future as automation deepens.
  • What this means for leaders:
    • Organizations must reskill employees at scale.
    • Human judgment, creativity, and client-facing roles remain essential.
    • The winners will be firms that balance AI-driven efficiency with human-centered expertise.

I. Introduction

Across finance, tech and every major industry, artificial intelligence (AI) is quietly re‑engineering how work gets done. In 2025, JPMorgan Chase – the world’s largest bank by market capitalisation – described being “fundamentally rewired” for the AI era. Its chief analytics officer showed how the bank’s LLM Suite can assemble a polished investment‑banking presentation in about 30 seconds, a task that used to keep teams of analysts busy all night. More broadly, major financial institutions are drawing up 2030 road maps to do more with less, reducing headcounts and retraining workers to use AI tools. This shift, once whispered behind closed doors, is now surfacing in media reports and earnings calls.

This blog explores two themes: how people actually use AI today and what is happening in the real economy. It draws on the Harvard/Filtered Top‑100 Gen‑AI Use Case Report to showcase everyday applications of AI, then examines evidence from banking, technology and other sectors that AI is reshaping jobs. The goal is not to alarm but to foster awareness and preparation.

II. How People Are Using AI Today

The 2025 Harvard/Filtered report analyses more than 100 generative‑AI use cases to see how ordinary people and professionals use large language models. The dataset reveals that AI is no longer just for coders; it has become a personal assistant, creative partner and tutor.

Top Use Cases

  • Therapy & companionship: AI chatbots provide emotional support and guidance, offering a “virtual friend” that listens and responds empathetically. Users report using AI to discuss mental‑health struggles, maintain focus and even help with brain‑injury recovery.
  • Organising life: AI helps people manage schedules, create to‑do lists and set SMART goals. It acts like a personal coach, prompting users to define goals, break them into actionable tasks and track progress.
  • Idea generation: AI excels at brainstorming. Users ask it for advertising concepts, gift ideas, jewellery designs or even help writing code. It provides novel suggestions based on patterns in data.
  • Fun & creativity: Beyond productivity, AI is used to create poems, memes and even storyboards. Artists and designers use it to explore new colour palettes or storyboard concepts.
  • Technical assistance: Coders leverage AI to write boilerplate code, refactor programs and generate unit tests. While users stress that they review and understand the output before implementation, AI speeds up scaffolding and debugging.
  • Healthier living: Some users treat AI as a nutritionist or fitness coach. They enter body statistics and receive customised meal plans and exercise routines.

The chart below summarises the relative popularity of selected use cases (reach scores from the report):

These use cases highlight a shift from purely technical tasks toward personal well‑being and life organisation. AI is evolving into a companion technology that augments thinking, creativity and self‑management.

III. What’s Happening in Business and Finance

Banking and Finance

  • AI‑driven cost cuts: JPMorgan Chase’s CFO told investors in May 2025 that the bank is hitting the brakes on hiring, urging managers to “resist headcount growth” and focus on efficiency. Operations staff – those handling fraud detection, payment processing and account servicing – are prime targets for automation, and a 10 % workforce reduction in operations is considered a conservative estimate. CEO Jamie Dimon’s internal message that “attrition is your friend” underlines the cultural shift.
  • Agentic AI: JPMorgan’s LLM Suite – a portal that taps models from OpenAI and Anthropic – is updated every eight weeks with proprietary data. The bank wants every employee to have a personalised AI assistant and aims to automate every back‑office process, turning each client experience into an AI‑curated interaction. It is now deploying agentic AI to handle complex, multi‑step tasks.
  • Workforce training: Citi, another global bank, is rolling out a mandatory AI prompt‑training programme for about 175,000 employees across 80 markets. The bank reported that employees had already submitted more than 6.5 million prompts into its AI tools, turning tasks that “once took hours into minutes”.
  • Industry projections: Bloomberg Intelligence surveyed chief technology officers and concluded that global banks expect to cut about 200,000 roles (roughly 3 % of staff) over the next three to five years as AI automates back‑office functions. This research noted that 94 % of international banks already use AI.
  • Other banks: Santander’s CEO said the bank would have cut over 1,400 UK jobs as part of a cost‑cutting round driven by simplification and automation. Deutsche Bank announced plans to eliminate 3,500 roles to realise €2.5 billion in cost savings, emphasising technology efficiencies.

Tech and Services

  • Fiverr: The Israel‑based freelancing platform announced in September 2025 that it would lay off 30 % of its workforce—about 250 employees—as part of a push to become an “AI‑first” company. CEO Micha Kaufman said the goal is a leaner, faster, AI‑focused infrastructure with fewer management layers.
  • Just Eat Takeaway: Europe’s largest food delivery firm said it would cut around 450 jobs, affecting less than 5 % of its workforce, by transitioning manual customer‑service tasks to automated systems.
  • Salesforce: In September 2025, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff revealed that AI agents had allowed the company to reduce its customer‑support headcount from 9,000 to 5,000, eliminating 4,000 roles. He described how “agentic AI” now handles half of customer interactions.
  • Widespread adoption: A Bank of England survey found that 75 % of financial services companies already use AI, with another 10 % planning to adopt it within three years. The same survey reported that 94 % of international banks are using AI.
  • Layoffs and retraining: A Resume.org survey reported that nearly 60 % of companies anticipate layoffs in 2026 and that around 30 % of employers have already replaced roles with AI. Despite this, many firms are retraining staff: Citi’s AI prompt training and JPMorgan’s internal rollout highlight a focus on reskilling rather than immediate mass layoffs.
  • Sector‑specific focus: Roles most at risk include back‑office operations, customer support and rote processing tasks. In contrast, client‑facing positions, senior banking roles and creative work remain essential.

IV. What Does This Mean for Our Future?

The evidence points to a nuanced future:

  • Productivity vs. headcount: AI tools can dramatically increase productivity; JPMorgan’s AI can produce investment decks in seconds and Citi employees complete tasks in minutes. This means companies can handle more work with fewer people.
  • Hiring pauses and attrition: Leaders like Jamie Dimon encourage staff to embrace attrition and resist adding headcount. Banks will still hire for high‑value roles but will automate routine functions.
  • Reskilling imperative: While some layoffs are inevitable, many organisations are prioritising employee training. Mandatory AI‑prompt training at Citi and internal LLM‑Suite rollouts at JPMorgan show that companies want existing staff to use AI effectively.
  • New roles emerge: As AI agents handle mundane tasks, workers become supervisors, auditors and strategists. They move from being makers (creating reports) to checkers (verifying AI‑generated outputs).

V. Conclusion: Navigating the AI Workforce Transformation

Artificial intelligence is no longer hypothetical; it is embedded in our personal lives and corporate workflows. People use AI not just to code but to manage their lives, brainstorm ideas and even seek companionship. At the same time, large enterprises are reorganising around AI: banks like JPMorgan and Citi are deploying AI agents, tech firms like Salesforce and Fiverr are slashing support roles, and service companies like Just Eat are automating customer service.

This transformation is both an opportunity and a challenge. Companies that integrate AI thoughtfully – combining efficiency with responsible governance and employee reskilling – will gain a competitive edge. Workers who develop AI literacy and focus on creative, strategic and interpersonal skills will thrive. The future of work is not about humans versus machines; it is about humans working with machines, harnessing AI as a powerful partner to amplify human judgment, creativity and empathy.

VI. References and Resources

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