Overview
- McKinsey estimates current tools could technically automate about 57% of U.S. work hours and forecasts roughly $2.9 trillion in value by 2030 if people, agents and robots are integrated through redesigned workflows.
- Enterprises report rapid productivity gains from agents, with IBM saying 94% of HR issues are now handled by AI, United Airlines cutting critical software fix times by 85%, and OpenText, Honda and Pick n Pay citing major time savings and fewer bugs.
- Vendors and security experts warn that agents expand the digital attack surface, with Visa tracking a 450% surge in dark‑web chatter about AI‑enabled payment fraud.
- Demand for AI fluency has jumped sevenfold in two years, raising concerns that weak math preparation and tight immigration could leave employers short of workers able to use the technology effectively.
- Visions for the next phase diverge, as Elon Musk predicts optional work and fading relevance of money within 10–20 years, while AFP frames 2026 as a crossroads for jobs, markets and governance with AGI timelines still contested.