The social ladder is broken: no more safe career paths
99% of executives expect AI-driven layoffs. University degrees no longer guarantee social mobility. Has the social ladder broken for good?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
99% of executives expect AI-related layoffs: the social ladder is breaking
A recent study reveals that 99% of executives worldwide plan layoffs over the next two years as a result of artificial intelligence adoption. The news comes amid a growing debate: university degrees that once guaranteed social mobility, such as Architecture or non-IT Engineering, are no longer worth it. And the ones that shine today, Computer Science and IT, may also have their days numbered.
From 1940 to 2019: the window that closed
Some sociological analyses suggest that the period of greatest social mobility in modern history lasted from 1940 to 2019. During those seventy years, a working-class child could change their socioeconomic status by earning a degree or working hard. But that window has closed. Since 2020, the system once again resembles a caste system: inherited wealth matters more than effort. Education no longer guarantees anything.
AI accelerates the precarization of every profession
The study, published by Computer Hoy, confirms what many antiestéticared: artificial intelligence will not only automate repetitive tasks, it will also affect skilled jobs. Programmers, analysts and computer engineers will not be immune. Capitalism, as some voices point out, can condemn any profession to minimum wage if it finds an oversupply of workers. Meanwhile, the privileged castes (notaries, land registrars, air traffic controllers) keep their positions thanks to legal protections or strike power.
The alternative: starting a small business in the AI era
Against the pessimism, some argue that this is a historic moment to start a business. With few employees and AI tools, a small company can deliver services that once required teams of dozens of people. However, the argument runs into a reality: if society grows poorer, who will buy those services? Aggregate demand shrinks and consumption contracts.
What nobody quite explains is why, with all this data on the table, migration flows toward precarity remain the norm. Perhaps the social ladder has not only broken: maybe it never existed for as many people as we believed.
Related debates in the forum
A recent study reveals that 99% of executives worldwide plan layoffs over the next two years as a result of artificial intelligence adoption. The news comes amid a growing debate: university degrees that once guaranteed social mobility, such as Architecture or non-IT Engineering, are no longer worth it. And the ones that shine today, Computer Science and IT, may also have their days numbered.
From 1940 to 2019: the window that closed
Some sociological analyses suggest that the period of greatest social mobility in modern history lasted from 1940 to 2019. During those seventy years, a working-class child could change their socioeconomic status by earning a degree or working hard. But that window has closed. Since 2020, the system once again resembles a caste system: inherited wealth matters more than effort. Education no longer guarantees anything.
AI accelerates the precarization of every profession
The study, published by Computer Hoy, confirms what many antiestéticared: artificial intelligence will not only automate repetitive tasks, it will also affect skilled jobs. Programmers, analysts and computer engineers will not be immune. Capitalism, as some voices point out, can condemn any profession to minimum wage if it finds an oversupply of workers. Meanwhile, the privileged castes (notaries, land registrars, air traffic controllers) keep their positions thanks to legal protections or strike power.
The alternative: starting a small business in the AI era
Against the pessimism, some argue that this is a historic moment to start a business. With few employees and AI tools, a small company can deliver services that once required teams of dozens of people. However, the argument runs into a reality: if society grows poorer, who will buy those services? Aggregate demand shrinks and consumption contracts.
What nobody quite explains is why, with all this data on the table, migration flows toward precarity remain the norm. Perhaps the social ladder has not only broken: maybe it never existed for as many people as we believed.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (19 replies).
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