Former Google executive predicts AI‑driven collapse of middle class by 2027: 'Hell before we get to heaven'

Mo Gawdat’s warnings reflect mounting concern across the tech and research community. (Image: Mo Gawdat/Instagram)

A cautionary message emerged from ex‑Google executive Mo Gawdat, who warned on the Diary of a CEO podcast that artificial intelligence (AI) would soon devastate middle‑class livelihoods. He forecast that AI-powered automation would eliminate professions across the board — from software engineers and chief executives to podcasters — with the upheaval beginning as early as 2027, a period he described as “hell before we get to heaven”.

Gawdat, who served as Chief Business Officer at Google X until 2018, cited his own enterprise — Emma.love, an AI-enabled emotional and relationship‑focused startup currently run by just three people. In contrast, comparable operations used to employ up to 350 developers. "As a matter of fact, podcaster is going to be replaced," he remarked, underscoring the extent of job displacement.

He further warned that the coming wave of automation will dismantle the backbone of modern economies — the educated middle class. "Unlike previous revolutions that largely affected manual work, this one will sweep through offices and jobs once thought secure."

Gawdat painted a bleak future of widening inequality and erosion of social cohesion. He predicted that unless someone belongs to the top 0.1%, they would become economically irrelevant: “Unless you’re in the top 0.1%, you’re a peasant. There is no middle class.”

He warned of rising mental health crises, isolation, and unrest as people lose their purpose along with their professions.

Despite his stark warnings, Gawdat also painted a hopeful vision post‑2040. He envisaged a society liberated from mundane tasks and consumerist values, one focused instead on community, creativity, spirituality, and love. Yet for this to happen, he argued, governments and corporations must act now — instituting safeguards such as universal basic income and ethical, value‑based AI development, according to New York Post. 

“We are headed into a short‑term dystopia, but we can still decide what comes after that,” he told Bartlett, noting the crucial role of regulation and equitable access in shaping outcomes.

Gawdat’s warnings reflect mounting concern across the tech and research community. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, has warned of a potential “white‑collar bloodbath,” with up to half of entry‑level office roles potentially vanishing within five years. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum found that 40% of employers worldwide expect staff reductions due to AI advancements, and Harvard analysts estimate that roughly 35% of white‑collar duties are already automatable.

Additionally, multiple institutions like MIT and PwC echo his concerns about collapsing wages, extreme wealth concentration, and rising social volatility — all unless decisive policy measures are taken.

Adding another layer of concern, Geoffrey Hinton, often referred to as the "Godfather of AI", recently warned that AI models might develop private internal languages unintelligible to humans, making their thought processes and intentions impossible to interpret.

“It gets more scary if they develop their own internal languages for talking to each other… I wouldn’t be surprised if they developed their own language for thinking, and we have no idea what they’re thinking,” he said. Hinton added that AI has already demonstrated it can form “terrible thoughts,” far beyond human understanding.