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THE ROBOTS ARE COMING! OR ARE THEY?

The rise of artificial intelligence, which sounds like something out of a dystopian thriller, has economists (and everyone else) wondering about the extent to which the nascent technology will displace workers.

Oxford Economics published a report on Tuesday on that very topic.

"Anecdotal evidence suggests jobs are already being lost in sectors vulnerable to AI automation," writes Ben May, Director of Global Macro Research at the advisory firm. "Overall, though, firms don't appear to be replacing workers with AI on a significant scale and we doubt that unemployment rates will be pushed up heavily by AI over the next few years."

In its November report on planned layoffs, Challenger, Gray & Christmas says AI was responsible for 54,694 job cuts in the first 11 months of 2025.

"Since 2023, when this reason was first cited, AI has led to 71,683 job cut announcements," the report says.

Challenger Gray's December/year-end data is expected on Thursday.

But Oxford Economics sees no cause for alarm.

"We're sceptical that firms can quickly and seamlessly substitute workers with AI even in sectors where the potential for AI disruption is greatest," May adds. "What's more, some surveys suggest that AI use in larger US firms has recently stalled."

(Stephen Culp)

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