a16z Partner Calls Mass AI Replacement of Human Workers a Fantasy

David George, a partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz’s a16z Growth fund, has rejected claims that AI will replace human workers on a massive scale. Citing employment trends across past technological revolutions, he argues that although new technologies eliminate some positions, they create more jobs over the long term while boosting productivity and wages. Companies should therefore focus on redesigning roles rather than simply tallying layoffs, he says.

George recently said large language models are rapidly lowering the “cost of intelligence,” potentially spawning new products, services and roles that could drive the next wave of job growth. He has observed that companies currently use AI largely to help employees work more efficiently, rather than to replace their entire workforce. Reports did not provide the survey date, the number of companies sampled, investment figures or specific data on job gains and losses.