Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt argues that AI will be a net creator of jobs, even as it displaces some roles — and he says the bigger strategic risk is who deploys AI fastest, not who builds the smartest models.

What happened: Speaking at Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative, Schmidt told The National that claims of a billion jobs lost in the next decade are “almost certainly false”. His reasoning is economic: firms adopt AI to increase capacity and profits, and (in functioning economies) higher profits recycle into the system via investment and taxation, creating new demand for work.

Why it matters: The argument pushes back on simplistic automation narratives and reframes the workforce question as one of transition and reallocation. It also highlights a second-order issue: competitive advantage may come from deployment — integrating AI across operations — rather than frontier research alone.

Wider context: Schmidt says the US is currently ahead thanks to deep capital markets and access to advanced chips, while China is focusing on exploiting AI to improve business efficiency. He also criticises restrictive US immigration policy, arguing that attracting and retaining global STEM talent is central to long-term competitiveness.

Singularity Soup Take: “Jobs vs no jobs” is the wrong binary — the real question is whether economies and companies can absorb AI productivity gains fast enough through new products, new services, and better deployment without leaving large groups behind.

Key takeaways:

• Net jobs: Schmidt expects AI to create more roles than it destroys, despite real displacement.
• Deployment: Operational adoption may matter as much as model breakthroughs in the competitive race.
• Capital and chips: He argues US advantages today come from financing depth and hardware access.
• Talent: Immigration policy and talent retention are positioned as strategic constraints on AI leadership.

Read the full article — The National