As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to dominate headlines, one tech investor is making it clear: AI isn’t just here to augment jobs, it’s here to replace them — and two industries, in particular, should be preparing for a major shake-up. Victor Lazarte, a general partner at Benchmark, has some strong words for those who believe that AI is all about boosting workers, not replacing them.
“Big companies talk about how AI isn’t replacing people, it’s augmenting them,” Lazarte told listeners on a recent episode of the *Twenty Minute VC* podcast. “This is bulls**t. It’s fully replacing people.” And according to Lazarte, two professions, in particular, should be incredibly nervous about the rise of AI: lawyers and recruiters.
The End of Traditional Lawyering?
For years, lawyers have been seen as one of the most secure, high-paying professions. But with AI’s growing abilities, this security is rapidly dwindling. Lazarte pointed out that law students should consider how their skills may be affected by AI in the next few years.
“Law school students should think about what they could do three years from now that AI could not,” Lazarte said. “There’s not going to be that many things.” This bold statement highlights the ever-growing capabilities of AI, which can now handle much of the grunt work traditionally done by junior associates.
Lazarte isn’t the only one raising alarms in the legal industry. At a recent legal tech conference, employment lawyer Todd Itami had a warning for the profession: “Lawyers are dinosaurs,” he said. “Lawyers need to wake up,” emphasizing the necessity of learning to leverage AI technology in order to remain relevant.
AI’s Impact on Recruiting: A New Era of Hiring
As if the legal field wasn’t nervous enough, recruiting is also feeling the heat. Lazarte believes that AI is poised to disrupt hiring practices in a major way. He predicts that AI models will soon be more efficient than human recruiters at interviewing candidates, and much more effective than the current chaotic, manual hiring process many companies rely on.
Lazarte’s views are shared by AI startups in the recruitment space. One such company, OptimHire, is already using AI to replace human recruiters. With $5 million in funding, OptimHire’s AI tool, OptimAI Recruiter, can automate tasks such as sourcing candidates, conducting screening calls, and scheduling interviews, significantly reducing the time and cost of hiring.
The impact of AI on recruitment is already being felt in the broader HR world. In 2023, Business Insider reported that AI tools were increasingly being integrated at multiple stages of the hiring process, from screening resumes to creating candidate shortlists. This shift is designed to streamline hiring, making it faster and more efficient for HR teams, while providing job seekers with a more seamless experience.
Smaller Teams, Bigger Profits: The Future of Business
While the job market may be shrinking, Lazarte believes AI will fuel the growth of smaller, more efficient companies. With costs slashed and productivity skyrocketing, AI could allow businesses to operate with fewer employees while still driving substantial profits.
“You’re going to have these trillion-dollar companies being done by very small teams,” Lazarte said. “People that own shares will get richer, founders will get way richer.” In other words, while AI may cut down on the need for human workers, it could make businesses exponentially more valuable — and the people behind those businesses significantly wealthier.
But this shift comes with a potential downside. Lazarte warned that AI could have a destabilizing effect on society, exacerbating inequality as smaller, leaner businesses unlock massive value at the expense of the workforce.
AI: A Double-Edged Sword
The transformation of business is just one part of AI’s rapidly expanding role. According to Lazarte, AI’s influence won’t stop at the office. He predicts that AI will soon become a central part of our daily lives, shaping everything we do.
“Pretty soon we’re going to have an app that just tells us what to do all day — and we’re going to love it,” Lazarte said. “We’ll be obedient to machines.” The potential for AI to guide and direct our actions could be a game-changer for personal productivity, but it also raises concerns about the future of human autonomy in an increasingly automated world.
While the rise of AI might feel like a futuristic nightmare to some, others see it as an opportunity to evolve. The legal and recruitment industries will need to adapt quickly, embracing AI as both a tool and a threat. For lawyers, staying relevant might mean learning how to leverage AI, not fight against it. For recruiters, AI-powered automation could be the key to streamlining hiring processes and reducing inefficiencies.
The future may seem uncertain, but one thing is clear: AI is here to stay, and it’s reshaping the job market in ways that are impossible to ignore. Those who don’t adapt might find themselves left behind as the world continues to embrace this new era of innovation.
