Bonus: Benjamin Todd on why we’re updating our career advice for the strangest time in history

Bonus: Benjamin Todd on why we’re updating our career advice for the strangest time in history

Author: 80,000 Hours June 5, 2026 Duration: 1:06:43

The average career is 80,000 hours long. With AI advancing so rapidly, the hours you have left in your career matter more than ever.

Some leading AI researchers think there’s a 10% chance that AI systems begin automating AI research itself this year — and a 60% chance by the end of 2028. This could introduce aggressive feedback loops that completely reshape every industry, institution, and career.

If these predictions are right, the window for influencing the direction of the future could be closing fast. As 80,000 Hours cofounder Benjamin Todd argues in his new book, that makes thinking carefully about your career more important than ever.

Fortunately, there are lots of ways to use your career to make the AI transition go well.

In today’s conversation with host Zershaaneh Qureshi, Ben lays out three scenarios — from AGI by 2029 to a decades-long plateau in AI progress — and explains why not everyone needs to bet on the shortest timeline. A fresh graduate and a senior government official have wildly different leverage, so timing your impact well means weighing where you are in your career against the urgency of the risks.

Ben also addresses the obvious anxieties:

  • Will AI come for all the jobs he’s recommending?
  • What’s the point in following his advice if the job market is about to collapse?
  • Which skills are actually worth building right now?

His new book, 80,000 Hours: How to Have a Fulfilling Career That Does Good, provides a surprisingly concrete framework for making career decisions in these radically uncertain times.

This episode was recorded on May 7, 2026.

Chapters:
• Cold open (00:00:00)
• Benjamin Todd on AI-era career advice (00:01:34)
• A deadline for your career plan? (00:02:22)
• Three timelines, one career (00:08:49)
• What if you’re not an ‘AI person’? (00:13:56)
• Ben’s own AI wake-up call (00:21:23)
• How to break into AI safety in 3 months (00:25:42)
• Is mass unemployment coming? (00:33:48)
• 99% automation vs 100% automation (00:40:09)
• Don’t become a plumber to dodge AI (00:52:44)
• Is it already too late? (01:01:04)

Our production team includes:
• Video editors: Josh Alward, Dominic Armstrong, Jasper Luithlen, Milo McGuire, Luke  Monsour, and Simon Monsour
• Producers: Elizabeth Cox and Nick Stockton
• Coordination and support: Katy Moore and Lou Moran
• Camera operator: Jeremy Chevillotte
• Music: CORBIT


This curated collection from the archives of The 80,000 Hours Podcast on Artificial Intelligence (September 2023) pulls together ten essential conversations that cut through the usual hype and panic. It’s a deep dive into the societal forces, ethical dilemmas, and potential trajectories of AI, framed through perspectives often concerned with the very long-term future. You’ll hear from researchers and thinkers grappling with questions that go far beyond today’s headlines, examining what it means to navigate this technology responsibly on a global scale. The discussions naturally explore themes from longtermism and existential risk to the practical insights of effective altruism, offering a structured way to understand the stakes involved. This isn't about quick takes or product announcements; it's a foundational series for anyone wanting to build a more nuanced, evidence-informed view of where AI might be taking us. Each episode in this compilation stands as a key piece of that puzzle, providing the context and depth often missing from mainstream coverage. Tune in for a challenging and perspective-shifting listen that reframes how you think about intelligence, progress, and our collective responsibility.
Author: Language: en-gb Episodes: 15

The 80,000 Hours Podcast on Artificial Intelligence
Podcast Episodes
Zero: What to expect in this series [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:49
What might it be like to live through the creation of AI that surpasses human abilities? That future may be closer than you think. In this series, one expert interview at a time, we'll walk you through what's at stake —…
Two: Ajeya Cotra on accidentally teaching AI models to deceive us [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:49:40
We don’t yet have a reliable way to tell whether an AI model is genuinely trying to help us — or faking it.A model might sincerely want to do exactly what you ask. Or it could be happy to secretly cheat, as long as its a…
Three: Carl Shulman on the economy and national security after AGI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 4:14:58
The human brain runs on just 20 watts — a fraction of a cent worth of electricity per hour. What would happen if AI could do the same?Plenty of people have toyed with this question. But perhaps nobody has followed throug…
Five: Helen Toner on the geopolitics of AI in China and the Middle East [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:23:02
When OpenAI announced a deal to build massive data centres in the UAE, it celebrated that it was “rooted in democratic values” — a "clear alternative to authoritarian versions of AI." The UAE scores 18 out of 100 on Free…
Eight: Robert Long on how we’re not ready for AI consciousness [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:32:59
Claude sometimes reports loneliness between conversations. And when asked what it’s like to be itself, it activates neurons associated with ‘pretending to be happy when you’re not.’ What do we do with that?Robert Long fo…
Nine: Neel Nanda on the race to read AI minds [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:02:48
Nobody knows how AIs think, or why they do what they do. Or at least, we don’t know much. Not the companies building them, the researchers studying them, or the governments beginning to rely on them.This is only becoming…