Automation has historically impacted blue-collar jobs first, whereas white-collar jobs benefited. The wave of remote work brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic further empowered white-collar workers with more autonomy through remote work. However, generative AI is changing this narrative. Remote workers are now more susceptible to automation due to their tasks being digital and thus more easily automated, but also indicates large potential productivity benefits. But three larger forces are going to drive far more extensive gen AI automation than most expect: ease of use, firms have self-primed for gen AI automation, and growing gen AI autonomy. This means that while some remote workers will lose their jobs, many, many millions of them will soon experience extensive job change that will require reskilling, particularly in management and AI-specific skills, to adapt to the changing job landscape and maintain productivity.
