AI Can Save the Economy From “Population Collapse,” According to Top Meta Executive

Artificial intelligence has become one of the biggest sources of anxiety in the American workplace. Companies are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in technology that promises to accomplish more with fewer employees. Workers understandably wonder whether their jobs will survive. Yet another economic threat is quietly developing that could turn this argument upside down. 

Falling birth rates and aging populations mean many countries may eventually struggle to find enough workers to support their economies. Instead of eliminating jobs people need, AI might become essential to filling jobs that otherwise go undone.

That’s the argument coming from an unlikely source: a top executive at one of the world’s biggest AI investors.

Meta’s Warning About Population Collapse

Alex Schultz, chief data officer at Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META | META Price Prediction), recently warned that the world faces a potential “population collapse” as birth rates fall and people live longer.

Speaking in remarks reported by the Financial Times on November 5, Schultz pointed to projections suggesting the global population could peak as early as 2064. His concern isn’t simply that there will be fewer people. It’s that there may be too few working-age adults to support growing numbers of retirees.

The Congressional Budget Office’s January 2026 demographic outlook illustrates the problem in the U.S. It projects that the number of working-age adults between 25 and 64 for every person aged 65 or older will decline from 2.7 today to just 2.2 by 2056.

That’s a shrinking pool of workers supporting an expanding retirement population. Schultz believes AI productivity gains could help bridge that gap. Businesses might produce more goods and services with fewer employees, allowing economies to maintain living standards despite slowing population growth.

Ironically, the technology many fear will destroy employment could eventually help compensate for a shortage of workers.

AI Is Already Changing the Labor Equation

Schultz isn’t speaking entirely in hypotheticals. According to the Financial Times, Meta already uses AI agents to resolve more than 10% of certain data-warehouse monitoring tasks without human intervention. He also cited improvements in software development and legal work.

Broader economic figures offer intriguing, though not conclusive, support. Recent Bureau of Labor Statistics productivity data showed American businesses producing more output without a corresponding increase in working hours. Productivity growth is beginning to resemble the economic transformation AI companies have promised, although the government figures don’t establish how much of the improvement comes from AI.

The implications extend beyond technology companies. Hospitals facing nursing shortages could use AI to reduce paperwork. Manufacturers could automate routine inspections. Financial institutions could handle more transactions without expanding administrative staff.

None of those applications replaces the need for nurses, factory technicians, or financial professionals. They potentially allow existing employees to accomplish more.

Yet there’s a contradiction investors shouldn’t overlook. The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book has already documented employers using AI to limit hiring. Productivity gains may help address tomorrow’s labor shortages while creating difficult employment transitions today.

The Economic Problem AI Cannot Solve Alone

Greater productivity doesn’t automatically translate into greater prosperity for everyone. If AI allows businesses to produce more with fewer employees, shareholders could benefit from lower costs and higher profits. But displaced workers may struggle to find comparable employment, particularly if the gains concentrate among a handful of technology companies.

The difference becomes critical when you consider Schultz’s demographic warning. A country with fewer workers needs greater output per worker. But it also needs households with enough income to purchase what businesses produce. AI cannot independently solve that distribution problem.

Nor does every industry benefit equally. Software can accelerate accounting and administrative work, but caring for an aging population still requires nurses, caregivers, facilities, and physical infrastructure.

There are encouraging signs that AI adoption can also accompany business formation and new employment opportunities. Whether those opportunities offset displaced jobs remains uncertain.

For investors, the longer-term opportunity may therefore extend well beyond the companies developing AI models. Businesses that successfully apply automation to genuine labor shortages could enjoy productivity advantages for decades.

Key Takeaway

Schultz’s warning highlights a demographic problem that won’t disappear when today’s AI investment boom eventually cools.

The CBO projects America’s population will stop growing around 2056 and begin declining afterward. An aging society will need to accomplish more with a smaller workforce. AI could become part of the solution, but higher productivity alone won’t guarantee broad economic prosperity.

Investors should look beyond promises of replacing employees and focus on companies using AI to expand output, improve services, and solve measurable labor shortages. Those benefits could prove more durable than the latest AI spending forecasts.

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