Eighty-One Percent Fired

Dirk Hanlon: McKinsey says AI could touch 81 percent of office-support work hours. Gus: I'm 81 percent fired! Dot: Father, hours touched is not jobs lost; office demand falls 38 percent, and for lawyers 47 percent of hours are touched but demand falls only 18 percent. Titles stay, McKinsey says, but how you spend the day changes; the number who must switch jobs could be anywhere from 6 to 16 million. Gus: good, the robot can have my meetings.

Automation touching a job is not the same as ending it: McKinsey's report says AI could affect 47% of lawyers' working hours but cut demand for lawyers by only 18%, and 81% of office-support hours but demand by 38%; the 11 million figure is the midpoint of a 6 to 16 million range, because technology sets what is possible and managers' choices set how fast it happens.

Starring

Dirk HanlonGus PeltDot PeltLorraine Pelt