Artificial intelligence is causing widespread anxiety about job losses, but IBM's top human resources executive argues the labor market is likely to change more than it shrinks.
Nickle LaMoreaux, IBM's chief human resources officer, said AI will probably remove some highly administrative and routine positions, but she expects the technology to create new kinds of work as productivity rises and economies expand. Speaking to The Deep View at New York City Tech Week earlier this month, she said the bigger question is not how many jobs disappear, but how companies use the time AI frees up.
"As economies grow, we're going to need more jobs," LaMoreaux said. "AI will take a portion of that, but because we're growing, we still need human jobs to fill that other space."
Her comments come as businesses across industries look to automate tasks and reduce costs. Some employers have pointed to AI when announcing layoffs, feeding concerns that the technology could accelerate white-collar job losses. At the same time, recent research from Stanford University's Digital Economy Lab suggests that some entry-level roles, including customer service, data entry and coding, are already under pressure. The study found that workers with college degrees may face some of the sharpest disruptions.
LaMoreaux acknowledged that early-career workers may have reason to worry, but said the response should be to adapt rather than assume every AI-driven efficiency gain will mean fewer people are needed. She suggested companies should ask whether employees whose time has been saved by automation can be redirected toward new products, new customer needs or work that has long been delayed.
"Can you deploy those employees into new models, new customer needs, new products, or honestly just a long list of work you never get to in your organization?" she said.
For graduates and job seekers trying to stand out in an AI-shaped labor market, LaMoreaux recommended focusing on results rather than just duties. She said candidates should be ready to explain what they achieved, how they did it and what changed because of their work, whether that was in a volunteer role, an academic project or a job.
She made a similar point about AI skills. Listing familiarity with a chatbot or other popular tool is less persuasive than showing how AI was used to solve a real problem. Building an agent that automates a task, for example, may be more compelling to employers than simply saying a candidate knows how to use ChatGPT.
"AI literacy is important, but I think it's less about knowing a specific tool and more about your application of it," LaMoreaux said.
Even with more automation, she said some capabilities remain distinctly human. Communication, leadership, judgment and conflict management are among the skills she believes are least likely to be replaced.
The debate over AI and employment is increasingly shaping how workers think about their futures. Some are changing careers, while students are reconsidering majors in hopes of avoiding jobs most exposed to automation. But the long-term impact of AI on work is still uncertain, and LaMoreaux's view reflects a more optimistic reading of that uncertainty: that AI may transform roles faster than it destroys them.