A few weeks ago, Anthropic—one of the world’s most advanced companies in artificial intelligence—published a paper titled *When AI Builds Itself* that explains that Claude, its most advanced model, already autonomously writes more than 80% of the code that goes into production. What began as a tool to assist programmers no longer needs humans to generate its own successor.

 

What’s most unsettling is that it’s “its own creators” who are asking how to stop it and advocating for international mechanisms capable of slowing down or even halting these systems if necessary. Let’s imagine, for a moment, that Oppenheimer had called for a nuclear treaty before Hiroshima.

 

In line with this alarmist view, *The Economist* recently titled a report “The Job Apocalypse,” warning that the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence could destroy millions of jobs if it outpaces the market’s ability to adapt. The concern does not seem exaggerated: “The speed of change makes it irresponsible to wait for all the evidence before acting, because seven out of ten Americans believe that AI will make it harder to find work, and nearly a third fear losing their jobs,” the article explains.

 

Another sign is the so-called “broken ladder,” which describes the growing loss of entry-level positions affecting young people seeking their first job. The reason? The increasing automation of routine tasks that once served as a gateway to the workforce, coupled with companies’ demand that new workers arrive with experience in roles that were previously designed to train them. Junior roles most vulnerable to AI are seven times more likely to require senior-level skills, such as leadership or strategic thinking (PwC, 2026). In Chile, one in five young people who want to work and are available cannot find a job, while the youth unemployment rate reached 21.6% (INE and SOFOFA, 2025).

 

Today, many promises are rapidly fading. While previous generations shared a collective belief that they would live better than the generation before them, in developed countries, barely one in five people envisions a better future (Edelman, 2025).

 

The dominant narrative of this revolution revolves around productivity, efficiency, and the valuation of technology companies (including the extravagance and absurd enrichment of some of their tycoons). However, the specific benefits it promises to people are far less clear.

 

Every technological revolution comes with a promise: the Industrial Revolution offered prosperity through work; the knowledge economy, mobility through education. But after years of mounting crises—pandemic, inflation, climate emergency, deteriorating mental health, polarization, and geopolitical conflicts—anxiety has become the prevailing mood of a generation for whom the future has become difficult to envision. The artificial intelligence revolution is bursting onto the scene with unprecedented power, but without a clear promise for humanity. And when the horizon disappears, even progress can feel like a major threat.

 

Mónica Retamal F.
Executive Director at Kodea