Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, has predicted that nearly all white-collar work could be automated by artificial intelligence within the next 12 to 18 months.
According to a detailed report from Fortune, this prediction echoes warnings made by other tech leaders, including Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Jim Farley of Ford, who suggested AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in the United States over the next few years. AI's rapid growth in computational power and capability, Suleyman argued, is a major driver behind these expectations.
While there were approximately 55,000 AI-related job cuts in 2025, overall employment impacts remain limited outside of the technology sector.
Not all experts agree with such rapid timelines. Some, like researchers at MIT, caution that many claims about AI-driven layoffs may be overstated, with businesses sometimes blaming AI for downsizing that is actually rooted in other factors. An MIT study found that 95 percent of enterprise generative AI projects had no measurable impact on profit and loss, while a survey by Pricewaterhouse Coopers reported that 55 percent of CEOs saw no benefits from AI deployments.
As AI continues to evolve, the debate over its impact on white-collar jobs is intensifying. The coming months will reveal whether these predictions will become reality or remain a warning about the future of office work. For more, see reporting from Tom's Hardware.