CEOs at Davos were split on how bad the AI job wipeout will be

AI was top of mind in Davos, Switzerland, this past week, where global leaders across sectors descended for the World Economic Forum meeting. I joined fellow Fortune editors and team members in Davos this week, attending panels and engaging in one-on-one conversations and meetings with global CEOs.

Throughout my more than a dozen meetings with senior executives there, two central themes became clear:

1. Moving from efficiency to growth. If last year was the year of AI-driven efficiency and cost-cutting, this year will be one of AI-driven growth, with CEOs seeking to derive value and profit from implementation versus just workforce reduction.
2. The future of work is uncertain. On the topic of workforce reduction, opinions ranged from a total replacement of all jobs to job growth over the next decade.

A few standout responses I heard during the week:

• Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is not shy about saying AI will replace lots of jobs, noting that software engineers, for example, are six to 12 months from being obsolete.
• One unicorn AI startup CEO told me he thought AI would create more jobs th...