AI projected to push 11 million Americans into new careers by 2035

By Splitfeed EditorialLast updated Oct 1, 2026, 00:10 UTC

On September 29, 2026, a report projecting that artificial intelligence could displace 11 million American workers into entirely new careers by 2035 was distributed as an interactive feature across Scripps-affiliated local broadcast outlets, including Scripps News and KGUN 9, with a follow-up publication on October 1 via KJCT. The projection covers roughly a nine-year window from the report's release date. No specific methodology, authoring institution, or underlying data source is identified in the available material, which limits how precisely the figure can be evaluated.

The number itself sits at the center of a long-running debate about whether AI-driven labor disruption constitutes a manageable transition or a structural crisis. Eleven million workers is a substantial figure, representing roughly seven percent of the current American workforce, but the framing of "new careers" rather than permanent unemployment is a meaningful distinction. It implies retraining and redeployment are possible, while leaving open the question of who bears the cost and whether affected workers realistically have access to those paths. The nine-year timeline also matters: it is long enough for policy to intervene, but short enough to feel urgent.

None of the three camps have published reactions to this specific story. Pro-AI voices would typically treat a projection like this as evidence that the economy is adaptable, pointing to historical precedents where automation created more jobs than it eliminated and arguing that displaced workers can upskill for roles that do not yet exist. Anti-AI voices would likely focus on the scale of disruption, arguing that 11 million career transitions represent real suffering concentrated among workers with fewer resources to absorb the shock, and that market forces alone will not manage the transition fairly. Middle-ground commentators would generally push for concrete retraining investment and policy frameworks, accepting that some displacement is inevitable while insisting that its distribution and pace can be shaped by deliberate choices.

The claims in this projection would be tested most concretely by the release of the full underlying report, including its methodology and sectoral breakdown, which would allow independent researchers to assess which occupations face the greatest exposure and whether the 2035 timeline holds under different assumptions about AI adoption rates.