Blackstone's Jon Gray Forecasts AI-Driven Growth in Blue-Collar Employment

Blackstone President Jon Gray Sees AI Boom Creating Blue-Collar Jobs

Blackstone Inc. President Jon Gray has predicted a surge in blue-collar employment as a result of the boom in artificial intelligence. According to Gray, this is due to asset managers like Blackstone investing billions of dollars in data centers and other infrastructure. For example, QTS, a data-center operator backed by Blackstone, is expected to have 40,000 people working on job sites across the country by the end of the year, up from 10,000 just one year ago.

Gray made these comments during a panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference, where he noted that the middle of the country is where the bulk of this physical investment is happening. This contrasts with the widespread fear that AI could replace vast swaths of jobs, as a recent report from Boston Consulting Group suggested that AI could cause as much as 15% of jobs to be eliminated in the next five years.

However, other industry leaders are more optimistic about the impact of AI on employment. Franklin Resources Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jenny Johnson argued that new jobs could be created as more people become familiar with AI and come up with innovative use cases.

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Johnson noted that people are still learning how to effectively use AI tools, but that once they are more familiar with them, they will discover new uses for the technology that they had not previously considered. As she put it, "None of us are that good at using these tools yet," but she is confident that as people become more comfortable with AI, they will find new ways to apply it in their work.

Gray's comments on the potential for AI to create blue-collar jobs are a significant development in the ongoing debate about the impact of AI on employment. While some experts are concerned about the potential for job displacement, others see AI as a source of new opportunities for workers.