AI Could Replace 80% of Jobs, Warns Pioneer Stuart Russell: Even Surgeons and CEOs Not Safe

Artificial intelligence is reshaping industries at an unprecedented pace, and leading AI researcher Stuart Russell believes the world is underestimating just how disruptive the shift could become. As major tech companies continue to lean heavily on automation—laying off thousands in the process—Russell warns that no profession, not even the most prestigious or highly skilled, is truly secure.

Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Russell shared a stark assessment of the future of work. “AI systems are doing pretty much everything we currently call work,” he said, noting that the level of capability and speed at which machines are improving could soon outpace human expertise across almost every sector.

One of the most striking examples Russell offered was in the field of medicine. Tasks that once required years of rigorous training and experience could one day be mastered by machines in mere seconds. “Anything you might aspire to — you want to become a surgeon — it takes the robot seven seconds to learn how to be a surgeon that's better than any human being,” he stated. His comments underscore a growing concern among experts that AI could automate even the professions long considered safe from machine replacement.

While the current wave of layoffs has largely hit mid- and entry-level roles, Russell believes that senior executives should not assume immunity. He painted a future in which even top leadership positions could face pressure to hand over decision-making to AI systems. “Pity the poor CEO whose board says, "Unless you turn over your decision-making power to the AI system, we're going to have to fire you because all our competitors are using an AI-powered CEO and they're doing much better,’” he warned.

According to Russell, the world is now “staring 80% unemployment in the face,” a prediction that, if realised, would force governments across the globe to confront an unprecedented social and economic crisis. He believes societies are not preparing fast enough for the scale of change ahead.

Russell is not alone in forecasting a turbulent future. Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently told the popular publication, “I think what a CEO does is maybe one of the easier things for an AI to do one day.” Other prominent tech leaders, including Andrew Yang and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, have suggested that tens of millions of roles in the US could be transformed or lost due to automation. Meanwhile, voices like Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Meta’s Yann LeCun argue that AI will reshape work rather than destroy it entirely.

Adding another perspective, tech billionaire Elon Musk has predicted that in an advanced AI-powered future, human labour may become optional—raising new questions about purpose, productivity, and how societies might adapt.

As the debate intensifies, one thing is clear: AI is no longer a distant disruptor. It is here now, accelerating quickly, and forcing the world to rethink what work will mean in the decades ahead.