It’s only been three years since generative AI came into the public eye, yet the reality humanity least wanted to face has already arrived: mass unemployment. From software engineers to financial analysts, AI is redefining the structure of white-collar work and shaking our belief in a “stable career.” According to the Future of Jobs Report 2025 by the World Economic Forum, the impact of AI will intensify in the next five years, with more than 92 million jobs expected to disappear worldwide.
Looking back through history—from the steam engine to the computer, from the carriage to the automobile—every technological revolution has made humanity more efficient. But AI is different. For the first time, technology is directly replacing human thinking. As AI agents become widespread, even the act of “execution” will be automated. When technology shifts from being a “tool” to becoming a “competitor,” the speed and depth of this wave of impact will far exceed any previous industrial revolution.
Even more worrying is AI’s impact on the education system. For over a century, there has been a stable pathway from education to the workplace: graduating from school, taking an entry-level position, learning on the job, and gradually advancing through the ranks.
But the rise of AI is disrupting this pathway. Companies now prefer to buy a few more AI tools rather than invest time in training newcomers. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York warns that the U.S. unemployment rate for recent graduates climbed to 5.8%. Meanwhile, research by the Stanford Digital Economy Lab reports a sharp decline in employment among 22- to 25-year-olds, especially in software development, customer service, and clerical roles.
Yet what concerns me even more is this: where will those who are replaced go?
While most companies are busy using AI to cut costs and increase efficiency, another market with huge potential is emerging. McKinsey & Company predicts that by 2030, more than 400 million people worldwide will need retraining or career transitions. This means that for every person displaced by AI, another will need to return to the workforce. I believe this is not just a crisis—it could become the next trillion-dollar industry.
Amid this wave, countries around the world are taking action. Our government plans to train 200,000 AI professionals by 2028, building a workforce ready to meet industry demands. Japan has gone a step further: starting in 2024, it launched a five-year reskilling support program, investing a total of one trillion yen to help companies and workers relearn in the areas of AI application and digital transformation.
In the United States, startups are also entering this field. Inference.ai is developing an AI-driven, human-centered “employment infrastructure” designed to help displaced white-collar workers reenter the job market. The team began by focusing on high-demand positions such as machine learning—roles that have long faced talent shortages but have high entry barriers. The Inference.ai system functions like a “driving school for the AI era,” using AI to scan global job postings, break down required competencies, and build skill trees and personalized training maps.
Leveraging its proprietary GPU partitioning technology, Inference.ai enables thousands of participants to gain hands-on experience in real computing environments at low cost, guided by mentors from leading U.S. tech companies and AI-based coaching systems. Participants then use simulated question banks and AI interviewers to validate their skills and prepare for job applications.
Without any publicity, Inference.ai has already attracted more than 1,000 engineers and professionals to join its community, which continues to grow rapidly each week. This shows that “helping people become needed again” is emerging as a central theme of the new workplace.
The AI revolution is advancing quickly, and new forms of employment, education, and social order are already taking shape. To me, this is not merely a labor market crisis—it is a global experiment in how humanity can coexist with AI, a question that we must all take part in answering together.
