Overview
- A new McKinsey Global Institute report finds current technology could technically automate about 57% of U.S. work hours but concludes employment will evolve through people–agent–robot partnerships that require workflow redesign.
- Demand for AI fluency has grown sevenfold in two years, reflecting rapid shifts in required skills toward orchestrating and guiding intelligent systems.
- Vendors and customers report strong ROI: OpenText cites an 80% time savings on release notes, United Airlines saw priority software fixes accelerate from 30 minutes to four, and IBM says agents now handle 94% of HR issues.
- Security risks are mounting as access expands: OpenText warns the attack surface now centers on software, and Visa notes a 450% rise in dark‑web posts about using agents for payment fraud.
- Scale and scope expectations are climbing, with SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son predicting 1 billion agents by end‑2025 and an Accenture leader saying teams are developing agents capable of executive roles.