By Haifa Chairunisa
The surge in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is no longer just a tech trend, it’s becoming a workplace reckoning. Global technology leaders are now openly warning that AI could take over a significant share of white-collar work.
But here’s the question: how soon could this shift actually happen? Sooner than many professionals expect.
Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of AI at Microsoft, predicts that the majority of white-collar tasks could be automated within the next 12 to 18 months. Speaking to Futurism on Saturday (21/2/2026), he said AI models are approaching human-level performance across nearly all professional domains.
“White-collar jobs like lawyers, accountants, project managers, and marketers will see most of their tasks completely automated by AI within 12–18 months,” Suleyman stated.
His remarks come amid mounting anxiety among investors and workers over AI’s growing presence in the workplace. Market jitters intensified following the launch of a new AI agent by Anthropic, which reportedly can handle complex professional assignments. The development triggered a selloff in tech stocks as fears of job displacement resurfaced.
Suleyman is not alone in sounding the alarm. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has previously warned that AI could eliminate up to 50% of entry-level white-collar roles. Meanwhile, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has acknowledged that entire job categories may disappear as AI capabilities expand.
Signs of automation are already visible in software engineering. Many developers now rely heavily on AI-powered coding tools to generate large portions of their work. Microsoft claims that more than 25% of its internal code is currently written with AI assistance. As a result, engineers are increasingly shifting toward higher-level responsibilities, such as debugging, system design, and production oversight.
However, experts caution that AI systems are not yet fully reliable. Studies show that outputs often require repeated human verification to ensure accuracy and security. In some cases, AI adoption has delivered mixed productivity results, occasionally even slowing workflows due to the need for constant review.
Another emerging trend is “AI washing,” where companies frame layoffs as part of an AI-driven transformation, even when cost-cutting is the primary motive.
Although AI integration remains in its early stages, its impact on the labor market is already underway. The debate is no longer about whether AI will reshape the workforce, but how fast and deeply it will affect millions of professionals worldwide.
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