Dario Amodei, CEO of U.S. artificial intelligence firm Anthropic, predicted in a media interview last year that "the rapid spread of AI could eliminate half of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years." He added a chilling warning that the active adoption of AI in industrial settings could push unemployment rates up to 10-20%. In fact, the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) released research findings showing that AI has succeeded in performing 50% of general tasks at an acceptable level of quality.
Global consulting firm KPMG recently published a survey showing that 52% of American workers fear losing their jobs due to AI. The figure is roughly double that of the previous year's survey. With the advancement of AI, the so-called "FOBO syndrome" — the fear among workers that they may no longer be useful at their companies — is spreading among American laborers.
FOBO stands for "Fear Of Becoming Obsolete." It refers to the fear that one may become unnecessary. It is a neologism derived from "FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)," a psychological phenomenon in which a person fears being the only one to miss an opportunity that has come to everyone. According to a global research institute that surveyed AI usage within corporations, about 30% of white-collar workers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union (EU) responded that they had obstructed their company's adoption of an AI strategy. Among Generation Z, those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, this figure exceeds 40%.
Both "FOBO" and "FOMO" act as negative factors in the workplace and in daily life. Experts point out that leaving FOBO unaddressed can actually hasten the very outcome one fears most. Rather than turning away from change like a "frog in a pot," it is time to make active efforts to adapt to new trends. Companies and governments should also spare no support in ensuring that "FOBO syndrome" is not left unaddressed but instead turned into an opportunity for a leap forward.
