WorkWhile chief executive Simon Khalaf warned that artificial intelligence is more likely to create a shortage of workers than to eliminate jobs.
In a recent commentary, WorkWhile CEO Simon Khalaf argued that the most pressing labor challenge posed by artificial intelligence is not the loss of jobs to machines but a growing deficit of workers to fill the positions employers need.
Khalaf said his company is planning around this constraint, emphasizing that the market is already experiencing too few qualified candidates for the roles that businesses are trying to staff.
His view runs counter to the louder public debate that focuses on how many jobs AI will take, shifting the conversation toward a potential scarcity of human labor as automation expands the scope of work.
The discussion was framed alongside insights from Karen Webster, chief executive of PYMNTS, who is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on payments innovation and the digital economy.
Webster founded the media platform PYMNTS.com in 2009, building it into a top source for coverage of payments, commerce and digital‑economy trends, and she also writes the NEXT newsletter and co‑founded Market Platform Dynamics, a firm that helps companies monetize innovation across industries.
Both executives highlight how emerging technologies are reshaping labor markets, suggesting that businesses may need to rethink recruitment, training and compensation strategies if a worker shortage materializes.