Here & Now Anytime Is AI really coming for white collar jobs?
Feb 26, 2026
Daron Acemoglu, MIT economist and 2024 Nobel laureate, weighs in on AI, automation, and labor markets. John Finer, former principal deputy national security advisor, discusses U.S. negotiations with Iran and a deadly Cuba-related maritime incident. Flavor Flav, Public Enemy founding member and sports supporter, celebrates U.S. women medalists and his ties to the Olympics and music.
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AI Is Rapid But Not An Immediate Job Tsunami
- AI progress is impressive but currently mostly confined to labs and not yet causing widespread white-collar job losses.
- Daron Acemoglu notes product adoption lags and firm choices matter, so automation's economic impact depends on how companies deploy AI rather than raw capability.
AI Could Trigger The Same Feedback Cycles As Past Shocks
- Large technological shocks can cause local job losses that reduce consumption and spread economic damage through communities.
- Acemoglu compares potential AI disruption to past shocks like Chinese import competition and factory automation in the U.S. Midwest.
Productivity Gains Only Help If Savings Are Shared
- Productivity gains from AI equal cost savings that can raise living standards if passed to consumers and workers find new jobs.
- Acemoglu stresses the outcome depends on whether firms lower prices and displaced workers re-enter employment rather than raising markups.