As warnings mount from some of the world’s leading artificial intelligence developers about job losses and societal disruption, Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu is offering a sharply different vision of the future, arguing that AI will ultimately create more jobs than it destroys and usher in an economy where human creativity becomes the most prized asset.
Speaking on the sidelines of the SuperAI conference in Singapore, Siu challenged the increasingly common narrative that AI will trigger mass unemployment, instead portraying the technology as a force that could free people from repetitive work and allow them to focus on uniquely human capabilities.
Concerns over AI’s impact on employment have intensified, prompting varying opinions from business leaders. Executives at leading AI companies, including Anthropic, have warned that advances in automation could eliminate large numbers of entry-level white-collar jobs. Those concerns have gained traction as AI systems become increasingly capable of performing tasks once reserved for skilled professionals, including coding, research, customer support, and content generation.
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Siu, however, argues that such assessments underestimate humanity’s ability to adapt and the broader economic opportunities created by technological change.
From industrial labor to creative labor
At the heart of Siu’s argument is the belief that modern education and employment systems have conditioned people to operate like machines, rewarding repetition, compliance, and standardized processes over originality.
“We’re born creative, and we’re losing our creativity to fit into a system because we’re trying to be turned into machines and do actions that are sort of regular,” Siu said.
Artificial intelligence, he argues, could reverse that trend.
Rather than competing with humans in areas where machines excel, such as data processing, pattern recognition, and coding, workers may increasingly focus on creativity, strategy, leadership, collaboration, and innovation.
“From an optimistic standpoint, that means we can all be free to be creative, because machines can ultimately deliver what we need to do on that side of things, while we can be truly human,” he said.
While some executives warn that AI could fundamentally undermine labor markets, others see it as a productivity tool that will reshape jobs rather than eliminate them.
The coming commoditization of intelligence
Siu’s argument is rooted in a broader economic observation: if AI can perform many forms of intellectual labor at near-zero marginal cost, intelligence itself may become commoditized.
“The superpower of an AI is it can code everything,” he said.
According to Siu, coding capabilities will eventually exceed those of most human programmers, accelerating a trend already visible across the technology sector, where AI-assisted software development is becoming standard practice.
Its coding skills, he said, “will eventually surpass that of humans.”
That shift could dramatically alter how companies assess talent.
“We have a real commoditization on capability and intelligence, which means that the skill has to be about creativity and coordination,” Siu added.
For decades, advanced education and specialized technical expertise have been among the most valuable economic assets. If AI lowers the scarcity value of those capabilities, competitive advantage may depend on imagination, judgment, interpersonal skills, and the ability to coordinate complex human activities.
Siu’s comments also serve as a direct rebuttal to the increasingly cautious tone emerging from some frontier AI companies. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has repeatedly warned that advanced AI systems could cause severe labor market disruption and create risks spanning cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and national security.
Anthropic has also argued that governments should consider mechanisms to slow or temporarily pause frontier AI development if safety research falls behind capability gains.
Asked about those concerns, Siu made clear that he falls into a different camp.
“Most people are going to be using AI in a way that would be beneficial,” he said.
“There’ll be a few people that will do bad things, they would have to be stopped, but… this, to me, doesn’t feel like it’s a nuclear arms race.”
That comparison is important because many AI safety advocates have described advanced AI development using language borrowed from nuclear deterrence and arms-control frameworks. Siu rejects that analogy, suggesting the benefits of widespread AI adoption are likely to outweigh the risks.
What it means for the future of work
The debate reveals one of the most important economic questions facing governments, businesses, and workers. Historically, technological revolutions have often displaced workers in the short term while creating entirely new industries and occupations over the longer term. The Industrial Revolution eliminated many forms of manual labor but generated manufacturing jobs. The internet destroyed some traditional business models while creating sectors that barely existed a generation earlier.
The uncertainty surrounding AI stems from its ability to automate cognitive tasks rather than merely physical ones. Even optimistic analysts acknowledge that significant disruption is likely as companies reorganize around AI-driven workflows.
Siu does not dismiss that challenge.
“AI is going to be creating a lot more jobs,” he said, while acknowledging that there will be “a disruption as well.”
The key question is whether the new opportunities emerge quickly enough to offset displacement and whether workers can successfully transition into roles that emphasize creativity, coordination and innovation.
Siu’s optimism is also consistent with Animoca Brands’ broader investment strategy. Founded in 2014, the company has built a portfolio of more than 600 businesses spanning gaming, decentralized finance, blockchain infrastructure, and tokenized real-world assets.
Many of those investments are based on the belief that digital technologies can create new forms of ownership, participation, and economic activity rather than merely replacing existing jobs. Viewed through that lens, AI represents not just an automation tool but a platform technology capable of generating entirely new markets and business models.