Month: September 2025

• The CEO of Anthropic warned that AI could gut entry-level jobs.
• Dario Amodei told the BBC that CEOs eye AI to cut costs, not just to boost worker productivity.
• He previously told Axios that AI could cut 50% of entry-level office jobs within five years.

Anthropic’s Dario Amodei is doubling down on his warning to entry-level workers.

In an interview on BBC Radical with Amol Rajan published on Thursday, the CEO said repetitive-but-variable tasks in law firms, consulting, administration, and finance could be eliminated in the next one to five years.

“Specifically, if we look at jobs like entry-level white, you know, I think of people who work at law firms, like first-year associates, there’s a lot of document review. It’s very repetitive, but every example is different. That’s something that AI is quite good at,” he said.

He also said many CEOs privately view AI as a way to cut costs — not just “augment” workers.

“I think, to be honest, a large fraction of them would like to be able to use it to cut costs to employ less people,” he said.

Amodei stressed that his one-to-five-year timeline isn’t about distant possibilities but about what’s already emerging.

The technology, he said, is “already very good at” entry-level work and “quickly getting better now.”

He added that his conviction stems in part from conversations with CEOs already rolling out AI tools, many of whom have said they want to use AI to reduce head count.

He’s doubled down on earlier warnings

Amodei has been sounding the alarm bell for months.

In May, he told Axios he believes AI could eliminate up to 50% of entry-level office jobs within five years, potentially pushing unemployment to 10-20%, and that industry and governments are “sugarcoating” what’s coming.

He’s also argued that the automative wave won’t be limited to back-office work.

In March, Amodei said at a Council of Foreign Relations event that AI could write 90% of software code within three to six months and “essentially all” of it within a year, with human engineers increasingly focused on design constraints rather than line-by-line programming.

The warnings have sparked a backlash and fueled a debate across the tech industry.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed Amodei’s bleak outlook at VivaTech in Paris in June, saying he disagreed with “almost everything” the Anthropic chief had said and predicting AI would change jobs rather than erase them.

OpenAI’s Sam Altman struck a similar note, saying society won’t allow half of jobs to vanish and that new, better roles will emerge.

Others remain divided. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said he sees no evidence of a near-term jobs apocalypse, while Ford CEO Jim Farley forecast that AI would replace “literally half” of US white-collar workers.

Mechelen – Thomas More University of Applied Sciences has inaugurated its renovated De Vest Campus, a €24.5 million project expanding the facility by 9,500 square meters to accommodate 7,500 students, reports 24brussels.

The newly opened campus, located on Zandpoortvest, features modern lecture halls equipped with advanced audiovisual systems and high-speed internet access. General Manager Stijn Coenen emphasized the importance of creating a welcoming environment for both students and staff in 2025.

Among the innovative additions are practice rooms outfitted with virtual reality technology, aimed at enhancing learning experiences. “We see many registrations for our graduate programs that lead to a specific job,” said Coenen.

Impact of the €24.5 million De Vest campus on student life

The campus offers underground bicycle parking, complete with 44 charging stations for electric bikes and scooters. Coenen pointed out the cafeteria overlooking the Dile River, emphasizing the positive atmosphere it will create: “In good weather, we can take a break or have lunch with a view of the water and the city. I’m looking forward to that.”

The flexible auditoriums are designed to be “incredibly flexible and modern,” resolving issues common in traditional setups that limit interactive teaching methods. Students can now engage in group work while still participating in lectures.

After a two-year period of being distributed across several facilities, university staff is returning to the newly enhanced De Vest Campus, which will host all permanent services. The campus anticipates serving all 7,500 students in Mechelen, including those studying nursing and business.

Coenen highlighted that consolidating faculty and students in one location fosters collaboration and boosts efficiency. With the academic year starting in just two weeks, he has already noticed an uptick in student enrollment.

“Our graduate programs are attracting more and more students. These are two-year programs with practical experience, focused on specific jobs or sectors. Think of automotive technology or orthopedagogical support,” he remarked.

This renovation reflects a significant investment in accommodating the rising student population, which has surged by 50% over the last decade, nearing 7,000 students. The expanded campus aims to support future growth and is projected to accommodate over 10,000 students.

• The US added 22,000 jobs in August, far fewer than the expected 75,000.
• Unemployment rose to the highest rate since 2021.
• Economists and markets expect the Fed to make its first interest rate cut of the year this month.

The US added 22,000 jobs in August, badly missing the expected 75,000, and unemployment increased to the highest rate since 2021.

Unemployment rose from 4.2% to 4.3%, as expected. The rate had been relatively low but at least 4% since May 2024.

Before the release, parts of the BLS’ website were reportedly offline. That glitch comes as more scrutiny is on the Bureau’s data after President Donald Trump fired former Commissioner Erika McEntarfer after a disappointing July report.

Job seekers have recently told Business Insider that they’ve tried networking, working on certifications, and using AI to help find jobs in a cooler job market.

“Overall, while the labor market appears to be in balance, it is a curious kind of balance that results from a marked slowing in both the supply of and demand for workers,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on August 22. “This unusual situation suggests that downside risks to employment are rising. And if those risks materialize, they can do so quickly in the form of sharply higher layoffs and rising unemployment.”

Tariff uncertainty continues to affect business decisions. Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal but will remain in effect through October 14 as the case continues to work through the courts. Trump recently appealed to the Supreme Court.

Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst, told Business Insider that the removal of these tariffs would “clear the rate-cutting path for the Federal Reserve because it is the primary reason why the outlook includes a high risk of rising prices” and bring some relief to the roughly two-thirds of Americans in a survey who thought tariffs would hurt their personal finances.

The Federal Reserve will make its next interest rate decision in mid-September. CME FedWatch, which shows the chances of the Fed changing rates, indicated before the new jobs report that there’s a nearly 100% chance of a rate cut.

Hamrick said the expected 25 basis point rate cut, after five consecutive decisions of holding rates steady, “would not have hugely consequential implications for the lives of most Americans” because the benchmark would still be restrictive.

“However, if it is the beginning of a sustained rate reduction campaign, that would be more meaningful, reducing economic headwinds and potentially giving the housing market a boost,” he added.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

This summer I was invited to join a discussion at Harvard’s Kennedy School on decaying democracies. Israel’s internal conflict, the unfolding war in Gaza and the hostage situation are all connected to the battle over our country’s identity. Are we to stay a modern democracy or to become a theocratic autocracy? That’s what’s at stake.

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Walking around campus, I found myself juggling mixed feelings of gloom and determination. The sense of gloom hit when I realized that my own country could soon find itself joining the autocracies that were also represented—Venezuela, China, Russia, Egypt. Researchers from each, plus the United States, were attempting to decipher the challenges presented by opposing either a regime or a decaying democracy. 

And yet the thought of the massive number of Israelis coming together to collectively battle this decay—hundreds of thousands as recently as last week—was uplifting, and I felt a rising pride and determination to win the day.

We know that democracies are fragile almost by definition. Around the world, we see democratically elected leaders using democratic institutions to carry out a slow but effective change. By weakening the checks and balances that keep a country democratic they gradually gain unlimited power. Loyalty to the leader rather than to the country becomes the decisive factor in key positions that are designed to be independent and maintain the balance power. And then there is no way back.

We founded Brothers and Sisters in Arms in January 2023 after a newly elected government announced that it planned to pass a set of laws to irrevocably enfeeble almost all Israeli democracy’s checks and balances. Among the 200 laws proposed was one enabling the government to cancel any Supreme Court decision by a simple majority, and another permitting the government to appoint unqualified loyalists to key positions without any review or explanation.

For years we had fundamentally trusted Israeli democracy, taking it for granted. At 50, living with my family in Tel Aviv with a successful career in Israel’s famed tech industry, it had never crossed my mind to play a part in civic society, let alone help found an organization. But I found myself threatened by the prospect of unlimited power in the hands of any government.

Getting together with friends, we understood that something had to be done before it was too late. We started a WhatsApp group, called ourselves Brothers and Sisters in Arms, and planned to walk from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on a journey for democracy. We were naive, none of us believed the journey would still go on three years later. I have always served my country and stood up to defend it including risking my life. This was what was driving us onto the streets. We love Israel and understand that its security relies on our solidarity. Without democracy, equality and freedom people do not stand up and risk their lives. Our motto was that the army of the people, one for all and all for one, can exist only in a democracy.

Week after week, for nine solid months, Brothers and Sisters in Arms and other protest groups led hundreds of thousands of Israelis into the streets. We raised the alarm in every corner of the country. Tensions escalated as the police response became increasingly aggressive. But we forged ahead and built a nationwide force of supporters. We demonstrated fearlessly, flooded the media and increased public pressure on coalition members, managing to temporarily halt the proposed judicial coup.

And then came October 7. At 6:29 a.m., every Israeli woke up to the sound of alarms blaring. Hamas had brutally penetrated our southern border, embarking on the slaughter of civilians.

Once again Israelis didn’t falter. We came together, setting aside the internal conflict to battle the external threat.

Our government, on the other hand, was paralyzed and in a state of shock. Regular Israelis unhesitatingly stepped up to fill the void. At Brothers and Sisters in Arms we pivoted immediately (literally in minutes) to become a civil-aid organization. We used our infrastructure to engage thousands of volunteers to address a wide range of needs in nationwide logistic operations. We rescued people under fire and supported evacuated families, helping to house and provide for them.

Astonishingly, the brutal attack by Hamas and its aftermath did not dampen the government’s ambition to grab unlimited power. On the contrary. Two years into a war that is not winding down, with our hostages to be returned, this government is totally focused on pushing through its judicial coup, acting continuously against the public interest.

It is refusing to prioritize the return of the hostages—casting aside solidarity and mutual responsibility, perhaps our most important strategic asset. And even though the military is short of manpower, the government refuses to draft ultra-orthodox men, whose religious political parties are key to the Netanyahu coalition. Cynically and immorally, the government is creating separate sectors of society. One risks its lives life defending the country and the other does not. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have returned to the streets demanding a brave leadership.

Moreover, Netanyahu and his government refuse to take any responsibility for October 7 or to appoint a state commission of inquiry to investigate how we got there—even though 80 percent of Israelis, according to multiple surveys, believe that inquiry is imperative.

If Israel is to survive as a vibrant, democratic Jewish state in accordance with the Zionist vision of our founding fathers and our declaration of independence—a safe home for the Jews, a thriving democracy based on equality and open to all religions and beliefs—the Israeli public must step up once more and actively participate in the democratic process. This is both the privilege of the demos in the modern world and its obligation.

Dealing with internal conflicts of identity while being threatened by external enemies is not unique to Israel. But Israel’s life-threatening circumstances show that the social robustness required to overcome them require most citizens to be committed and engaged. In Israel our “groupishness” is our superpower. That is the Zionism on which I was raised. It is the Israel we want to return to. The researchers in Harvard, like many people around the world are looking at the Israel’s battle for itself. The outcome depends on us. We are the democratic defense force.