Ben Goertzel, the artificial intelligence researcher widely described as the person who coined the term Artificial General Intelligence, has said AI capable of matching human intelligence could arrive within two to three years, while warning that such a breakthrough would make the vast majority of current jobs obsolete. In a recent podcast appearance cited by Forbes, Goertzel said the shift would not happen overnight, but would unfold in a way comparable to the gradual spread of generative AI since 2022.
Jobs Expected to Face Early Disruption
Goertzel said the first professions to face disruption may not be the ones many experts initially expected. He pointed to roles such as lawyers and graphic artists as already seeing change faster than manual labour jobs.
He added that plumbers, electricians and educators are likely to remain relevant longer than many office-based roles. Goertzel also said even new AI-related positions are losing their edge quickly, remarking that prompt engineering was highly important two years ago but is no longer central in the same way.
FCRF Returns With CDPO, Its Premier Data Protection Certification for Privacy Professionals
A Future Beyond the Traditional Workday
Despite his warning of a large-scale employment shock, Goertzel said he does not view the future as a dystopia. Instead, he described a possible utopian world in which the end of the 9-to-5 work structure could lead to a better quality of life.
In that future, he said, people would have more time to spend with family and loved ones while robots take on more of the economy’s heavy lifting. He also suggested that greater freedom to pursue hobbies and creative work could offer emotional fulfilment beyond a paycheck.
Universal Basic Income and Adaptation
Goertzel said universal basic income and decentralised access to technology would be necessary to ensure that the benefits of AI-driven wealth are shared broadly. He argued that the ability to adapt would matter more than mastering any single tool as AGI moves from a laboratory concept toward workplace reality.
He said the human focus may increasingly shift from making a living to finding purpose in a transformed economy. While presenting AGI as potentially positive for human relations, Goertzel acknowledged that work remains about far more than money alone.
