London, UK – A growing body of research suggests the world is on the verge of the most disruptive labour shift in history, with artificial intelligence (AI) threatening to eliminate hundreds of millions of jobs across multiple industries.
The International Monetary Fund has warned of “structural unemployment,” while McKinsey predicts up to 30% of global work hours could be automated as soon as 2026. Goldman Sachs has gone further, estimating that 300 million jobs worldwide are at risk of automation.
Adding to these forecasts, London-based author Louis Halpern argues that mainstream projections understate both the speed and scale of the coming disruption. His new book, You Are All Fired By an Algorithm: The Coalescence – A World Without Jobs, describes a future where employment as we know it collapses under the weight of AI-driven automation.
Work Already Being Replaced
Examples of this shift are already visible. At Amazon’s Spartanburg facility, 350 robots replaced 3,000 warehouse staff in just 18 months. In customer service, fintech giant Klarna deployed a chatbot that handled the equivalent workload of 700 agents within a single month — saving £40 million annually. Meanwhile, JPMorgan Chase has rolled out AI systems capable of performing 360,000 hours of legal and loan tasks once managed by humans.
“This is the first time in history that human labour faces simultaneous disruption across all sectors,” Halpern told EtaMagazine. “We are not witnessing another industrial transition — we are confronting a potential collapse of work itself.”
The “Coalescence” Effect
Halpern calls this looming disruption “the coalescence” — a phenomenon in which jobs are displaced across finance, healthcare, retail, and manufacturing at the same time. Unlike the Industrial Revolution or the rise of computing, which reshaped industries gradually, AI’s cross-sector advance creates what he describes as a catastrophic multiplier effect: when jobs vanish, consumer spending declines, businesses falter, and unemployment deepens.
Can Safety Nets Hold?
The book also raises concerns about whether existing social safety nets can withstand such strain. During COVID-19, the UK’s Universal Credit system nearly collapsed under 2.2 million claims in a single month. With AI threatening losses on a similar or larger scale — but permanent — governments could face unprecedented pressure.
Possible Solutions
Halpern does not argue that collapse is inevitable. Instead, he presents a seven-pillar survival framework, including Universal Basic Income, taxation of AI profits, and emergency relief systems. If implemented effectively, he suggests that the same technology disrupting jobs could also generate the wealth needed to fund recovery.
“We face a choice,” Halpern concludes. “Fund the transition, or face collapse. The very technology that threatens to destroy our economy can, if harnessed, become the engine of unprecedented prosperity.”
About the Author
Louis Halpern has worked for over 25 years at the intersection of technology and business, advising organizations such as Nando’s, BBC TVL, and Marks & Spencer. His personal experiences with ADHD, bipolar disorder, and dyslexia shape his perspective on disruption, enabling him to identify connections others overlook.
His book, You Are All Fired By an Algorithm: The Coalescence – A World Without Jobs, is now available through Amazon and major booksellers.
