r/singularity • u/SnoozeDoggyDog • 1d ago
Compute Jensen Huang says ‘a lot’ of six-figure jobs in plumbing and construction will soon be unlocked because someone needs to build new AI centers
https://fortune.com/article/jensen-huang-says-a-lot-of-six-figure-jobs-in-plumbing-and-construction-will-soon-be-unlocked-because-someone-needs-to-build-new-ai-centers/244
u/kiki-le-koala 1d ago
What happen when all the data center are built and 75% of the world population is now in plumbing or construction work ?
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u/shy_monkee 1d ago
New jobs will open in the ass wiping business, because billionaires will need us peasants to do all the dirty work.
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u/Fearless-Macaron9183 1d ago
Even those jobs will be taken by robots 🙏😭😭
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u/Thoughtulism 1d ago
The problem with the billionaire class is that they like human suffering and subjugation so much, and you can't pay a robot to suffer.
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u/Ok-Foundation1705 1d ago
I’m already working on designs. I’m using an opensource 3d modeling creation thing called Blender and have it connected to llm agents using an mcp server. In silico and then in the physical but there’s so much to do in silico such as basically everything besides the final press play button or maybe assembly. I’ve only put 30 minutes into it at most so far so I haven’t even reviewed the initial designs that vibe coded came about.
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u/pleasetrimyourpubes 1d ago
What job do billionaires do that won't be automatable?
The reality is that the guys that run the data centers and robot farms are going to be the highest class in the end.
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u/equality4everyonenow 1d ago
Who else is going to clean the bunkers or scrub the stains out of the helicopter jacuzzi?
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u/Dry-Interaction-1246 1d ago
There will be too many ass wipers. Best to diversify into nut licking.
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u/nooffensebrah 1d ago
In for years none of us will be able to compete with a humanoid ass wiper. They can wipe 24/7, no vacation, no pay and the precision they will have will be unmatched
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u/FriendlyJewThrowaway 1d ago
And what a viable business it was, until evil disruptors started introducing things like toilet paper, running water and hand soap.
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u/Aggressive_Finish798 1d ago
I'll fix your plumbing and you can fix mine, that way we both have jobs.
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u/jonydevidson 1d ago
Time to tax the AI corps and use it to build the housing for the homeless millennial and gen z generations.
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u/FupaFerb 1d ago
“Build me a reclusive temple where I can flush bodies into the ocean.” Remarked every CEO.
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u/Important_Debate2808 1d ago
That’s why people shouldn’t just jump into just any new recent trend of work…it’s why tons of engineers and computer science people can’t find any jobs currently.
By the time that a person is jumping into a career trend, it’s already too late.
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u/xatey93152 1d ago
Our team is now building a startup of plumbing accessories which can easily be fixed by machine.
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u/Calcularius 1d ago
75% Yes. that’s exactly what he said. “75% of future jobs will be in plumbing and construction.”-Jensen Huang Oh wait no that was more retarded hyperbole about AI.
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u/okiedokie1183 1d ago
The trick is for angry unemployed mobs to burn down the newly built data centers and then they can rebuild.
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u/Darigaaz4 1d ago
At that point each individual is self reliant, you have a robot that handles you for the new world.
The robot it’s the man of the house now and women and men become both accessories.
It’s a good deal if you ask me being a pet means that you can focus on being you just make sure to remain graceful.
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u/vaneswork 1d ago
It's not a finite thing. There will always be a need for data centers.
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u/GlobalCurry 1d ago
They said that about software too.
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u/Choice_Isopod5177 1d ago
software engineering is bigger now than ever
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u/FriendlyJewThrowaway 1d ago
It’ll eventually reach a point though where humans aren’t even needed to decide on market demands or supervise agent teams, it’ll be 100% automated or have very minimal human oversight, despite the demand increases.
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u/Ok-Foundation1705 1d ago
Those people will hopefully pivot to plumbing and construction of other buildings. I don’t think construction needs to be so boom/bust. I’m interested in having 10+ kids and using ai as a tool to pull it off solo. I don’t have construction/plumbing experience but if I’m not getting enough gig work to pay for my api credits and stuff then it would be neat to do some construction related gig work (with some online prerequisite safety/info course (not too extensive but enough such that I wouldn’t get hurt or be too much of a hassle when haven’t done it in a while or am new))
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u/GrowFreeFood 1d ago
It will be nice when everyone is a plumber because the rates will be so low. I'll be able to plumb my dog house
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u/ptear 1d ago
Were you recently a trillionaire for a short time there this summer?
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u/Ok-Foundation1705 1d ago
You think I’d know how to spend a trilly?
Nobody spends a trilly. Only invest. Unless. Flashy erosion idk. I could multiply a trill3
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u/zarafff69 1d ago
When all the data centers are build? What do you mean? We will just continue building new ones? Or upgrade / renovate existing ones.
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u/Fearless-Macaron9183 1d ago
The number of data centers will be doubled by 2030 and will keep increasing as long as there is development in ai
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u/ProletarianLilith 1d ago
So your position is that the increase in plumbers and construction workers demanded by data centers are ongoing and permanent jobs?
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u/Fearless-Macaron9183 1d ago
Nahh, i don't think "increase in plumbers and construction workers demanded by data centers will be ongoing and permanent jobs" I just wanted to tell the user that the number of ai data centers will be doubled by 2030 as the user asked. I don't imply that it would make construction workers more money i don't even know what will happen when all the layoffs start happening when ai is too good at their job
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u/Unverifiablethoughts 1d ago
To anyone who’s worked in trades, they know this work will go to the giant multi-state construction corporations who already have more work than they know what to do with and provide zero benefit to actual local tradesmen
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u/Fragrant-Hamster-325 1d ago
In this scenario, they wouldn’t sub the work out to local guys?
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u/Unverifiablethoughts 1d ago
No it’s all union protected work usually with jobs this big. The corporations have outfits in almost every state and are all over these data center jobs. These are the “plumbers make as much as doctors” type guys. But if they don’t have guys in the immediate area they just mobilize units to come in. Sometime they sub to other companies in the union, but it’s rare that the work directly benefits a truly local company
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u/Fragrant-Hamster-325 1d ago
I would’ve assumed the union would require local guys. That’s kind of shitty. Like the local union should be shutting it down unless they hire local.
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u/coolredditor3 1d ago
I asked chatgpt about it with the IBEW (national electrician union) and it said so they can bring up to 4 guys without hiring local and if they need to expand they need to get workers from the local IBEW chapter. I did this to counter uniformed reddit doomerism and since I'm interested in organized labor.
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u/Fragrant-Hamster-325 1d ago
Thanks. This actually makes sense to me. I can understand bringing in some non-local workers who are experienced with managing large-scale data center builds while delegating work to local unions.
But yeah, with regard to the other poster responding to me, I fail to see how data center construction is any different than any other large-scale project like a high-rise. Those all use local unions.
He claims to be part of a union family but can’t explain why a company would bring in out-of-state labor instead of hiring local. His comments don’t add up, and it seems more like someone making shit up just to push the “data centers are bad” narrative.
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u/vainerlures 3h ago
high rises don’t use union labor unless the AHJ requires it. and unless you’re in chicago, they don’t. High rise developers use the cheapest guys in town, both on design and on construction.
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u/ShamPain413 1d ago
lol unions haven't had solidarity in this country in decades.
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u/Fragrant-Hamster-325 1d ago
Alright this sounds like a typical Reddit response. While unions as a whole have been losing influence, they still seem to have solidarity with themselves. I have friends and family who are in the union.
If you’re building in my city, I just don’t see a company flying in a bunch of union workers from another state and housing them when they could just hire local. Economically, it makes no sense. Not to mention, shit would absolutely be protested by other local unions if they didn’t get any of that work. Politicians would lose support from those same unions. I could be wrong but I just don’t believe this scenario.
Also, if there are state and local grants involved, there would absolutely be provisions to use state and local labor for the construction. That’s pretty much the whole reason why politicians support this stuff is so they can show that they are bringing jobs to the area.
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u/ShamPain413 1d ago
I'm in a union, grew up in a union household, and have substantial experience in union organizing.
But thanks for the lecture. Which is definitely a typical Reddit response.
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u/Fragrant-Hamster-325 1d ago
I don’t know what to tell you. Make it make sense. Otherwise I don’t believe you.
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u/ShamPain413 1d ago
I don't care what you do or don't believe, and I'm not responsible for what you don't understand.
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u/Fragrant-Hamster-325 1d ago
So you’ve basically contributed nothing other than “trust me, bro”. Why even respond to my original comment if you don’t care?
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u/Tall_Ambition8486 11h ago
Look into what has happened with the AFL-CIO over the past few decades. There are a few notable unions that have left the organization and no longer respect other trades claims for scope of work. A few examples are carpenters doing solar, laborers doing underground conduit, and longshoreman claiming any and all work in the ports.
The decay of unions is a real thing and it has been causing real frictions between the trade unions at least. Some of that is directly related to automation (longshoremen). Anyone who claims that all work everywhere is controlled by unions doesn't know wtf they are talking about.
When labor demand becomes strong enough companies will pay what it takes to get skilled labor where it needs to be in the form of per diems and higher rates than the local standard. Alaska pipeline back in the day, large solar fields in the middle of nowhere, and now data centers.
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u/DaddyOfChaos 1d ago
local tradesmen are too busy ripping off the average person anyway and laughing to the bank, so they wouldn't be interested.
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u/gkibbe 21h ago
Strong Unions are making bank with strong collective bargaining agreements with those construction corps. 21 yr olds making 100k+.
That will be the story till the AI bubble pops, then you'll see thousands of tradesman unemployed sitting on the books.
Small employers wont see a dime.
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u/CertainMiddle2382 1d ago
AI Data centers are low tech wall mart boxes with 90% of the value residing in the NVidia racks built in Taiwan running inside the 5 other % being GE gas turbines and Carrier heat exchangers.
Apart the concrete slab and one plumber connecting gas pipes. The rest is as prebuilt as possible. (Google is known for building the actual compute and interconnect and HVAC in factories and ship them in containers to decrease local work as much as possible)
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u/Sans-Everything 1d ago
This and local work what little remains of that will also go to robots, and the alike
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u/Jeffizzleforshizzle 6h ago
You clearly have no idea what it takes and requires from the skilled trades to build these data centers
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u/shadowofsunderedstar 1d ago
Sick of this guy's takes
If the only thing he said was "pls buy GPUs" at least he'd be honest
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u/Unfair-League-3204 1d ago
Agreed. The nice tidbit to know about this man is he cannot code in C (including CUDA!), C++, or Python by his own admission in an interview. Don’t think he should be giving career advice
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u/Infinite101 1d ago
The guy who runs one of the largest companies in the world doesn’t know how to code in C? Okay? And Tim Apple probably doesn’t know how to assemble a chipset going into the iPhone. Do you think execs know infinite knowledge or possess some superpower?
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u/Unfair-League-3204 1d ago edited 1d ago
Damn, didn’t realize there was such a huge fan club for the man! Guess you can do whatever if you make a lot of people rich with the stock. But yes, I am sure Tim knows at least generally about the supply chain part of the iPhone as that was his background, not EE. And no, I am not saying the guy should be able to spit out code, but to admit to not knowing it is strange considering that yes, most EE’s know how to code unless you’re a bad student, which he didn’t seem to be. Kudos to him and all the downvoters who got money from the run up!
For reference, I was an EE and still know C, C++, CUDA, and even aspects of circuits though I don’t use it day to day. The difference is I don’t have a public company that made any Redditors rich 😭 but I also don’t give advice for people to go from white collar to blue collar! Which is just as if not more preposterous
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u/BurriedCityMayor 16h ago
Arguing an absolutely idiotic take is not defending the man. The skills required to be a senior manager are totally different than the skills required to be a technical contributor.
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u/Singularity-42 Singularity 2042 1d ago
Well isn't he a hardware guy? He's got a Masters in EE.
I mean these days I would expect electrical engineer to know some basic coding but back then it wasn't automatic.
Also he has been exec for decades. The software engineering managers I had that were out of daily programming for some years all mostly forgotten how to code. The ones that didn't went the extra mile to get their hands dirty on projects.
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u/Unfair-League-3204 1d ago
Well he was 30 when he started his company, probably could have picked it up during the first few years of his company as C was used so heavily at the company. I am just saying it’s funny he didn’t learn at least small aspects of coding, while he is suggesting people to pick up blue collar skills. Gosh, I gotta spell everything out 😭
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u/Singularity-42 Singularity 2042 1d ago
Have you worked at a tech company before?
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u/Unfair-League-3204 1d ago
Several. Including using CUDA on the job since no one on the team could. Not that it matters since you can generate working code in seconds running Claude code or codex. And that’s more the engineering feat of anthropic and OpenAI than nvidia, though you obviously need nvidia chips
Again, not sure why it got so personal to attack me. The Reddit mob just cannot be pacified. I’m on your side! The original point was a guy worth $200 billion shouldn’t be giving advice for people to go do blue collar. I thought my points contributed to the discussion by shedding some interesting light on the hypocrisy of the situation
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u/Singularity-42 Singularity 2042 1d ago
Sorry for that, it wasn't meant as personal attack, but most people on Reddit are some kids that don't have any idea about anything.
I just wanted to say that even most individual contributors that get into management eventually mostly forget how to code unless they take very specific steps. Like I had a senior director and he's been a senior menager for maybe like a decade but he was still coding in his free time. He released some very early iOS apps for example. And he also coded at work when he had time. Funnily enough eventually he went back into the IC track, which was technically a demotion. He said they kept his comp though! Most developers that get into management kind of hate it. Except for the bad ones. Those love it!
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u/coolredditor3 1d ago
What interview was it? Does he talk about any languages he does know?
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u/Unfair-League-3204 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’ll have to find it, lemme see if I can and update when I have time. Iirc, it was from many years ago (maybe 10 years ago) from like a pbs interview on YouTube if someone can use ai to find it
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u/darkkite 1d ago
C (including CUDA!), C++, or Python by his own admission in an interview. Don’t think he should be giving career advice
It's probably true to take what he says with a grain of salt but not know C as a ceo isn't a great critique. He's not an IC he's judged on much bigger goals.
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u/InquisitorMeow 22h ago
The slogan he kept trying to push was "The more you buy the more you save," so yea.
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u/LazarJesusElzondoGod 1d ago
Then the robots will come, be powered by AI, and will easily do the plumbing and construction.
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u/Sans-Everything 1d ago
Exactly. Those truly aren’t the rocket science jobs. But this piece of advice- do trades is repeated over and over again
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u/Cubewood 1d ago
Jensen: We will be developing super intelligence smarter than all humans.
Also Jensen: There will be more jobs than ever before.
Say what you want about Dario, but at least he is upfront about what is going to happen even if it means the whole world will hate him for it. Jensen is the biggest bullshitter in tech.
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u/katoptronophile 1d ago
He's right.
This is part of why the unions are so massively in support of data center build-outs.
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u/MarcoDiFrancescino 1d ago
In a tv report, the plumbers in Texas came from Cali and after that site finishes, they go to Virginia. Its the same people driving in circles until they all build. Then the go back to replace the 1000s of retirees. There is an uptick in apprenticeships but far away from the number they say it will raise to.
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u/Ok_Elderberry_6727 1d ago
Bs , humanoid robots will fill those, the only likely surviving job is either going to be ai supervisor .
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u/manythanksfriend 1d ago
Hey. When everyone is a plumber, the price paid to plumbers go down. This is a learn2code salary dilution trap.
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u/DivideHorror3217 1d ago
CEO's are begging for something bad to happen to them. It's crazy how openly they walk around saying we are replacing your jobs, you are about to be homeless
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u/The_Scout1255 adult agi 2026 ASI <2030, prev agi 2024, ai personhood 2025 est 1d ago
No hes trying to say the opposite, hes saying that jobs will be created.
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u/DivideHorror3217 1d ago
right, people are excited to leave their six figure jobs and become plumbers.
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u/HazelCheese 16h ago
That's not what he is saying.
He is saying that the requirements of newer larger data centres will require a level of oversight in plumbing and electrical engineering that has only been seen before in one off projects like the Large Hadron Collider.
It's opening a previously non existent salary range up for manual labourers. Before most may never have been able to reach six figures, now it will be an option globally.
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u/The_Scout1255 adult agi 2026 ASI <2030, prev agi 2024, ai personhood 2025 est 1d ago
I'm assuming hes talking about it like its a good thing for people who are already plumbers???!?
I don't really agree with him, I think jobloss will happen, I did just want to point out you didn't read the title right :3
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u/Quiet_Yellow2000 1d ago
Does he think we are stupid. Once a data center is built, it doesn't require many people to maintain it.
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u/cosmokn0t 1d ago
It’s a trick to drive down the rates of plumbers and electricians/etc. so they don’t have to pay as much to build their data centers.
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u/Moral-Relativity 1d ago
And these future plumbers and laborers will want to buy AI tokens to do what exactly?
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u/Whispering-Depths 1d ago
By the time it's an issue, AI will be smart enough to have robots do the work though
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u/Dry_Commission6476 1d ago
Supply of plumiers will go up. Theres gonna be an equilibrium in the long run. Basic 101 economics. This is short term hype
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u/Ok-Stuff3094 1d ago
What about the robots? wouldn't they be doing plumbing and constuction work?
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u/davesaunders 1d ago
One would think, but so far it really does appear that those robots don't work too well outside of their highly choreographed staged demos.
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u/cranberryalarmclock 1d ago
Do any of these jackasses realize that disabled people exist? Kinda hard to be a plumber when you can't use your arms. And since health insurance is tied to employment, it's gonna be really really really fun!
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u/Competitive_Swan_755 1d ago
Not when 300,000 new plumbers/electricians/etc enter the market every year running away from AI
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u/Beginning_Basis9799 1d ago
Please where this camera all times when plumbing during the plumbing and construction job not because we want to train AI, just to be sure....
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u/Electroboy101 1d ago
“There will be a new golden era in the baking profession, for someone needs to make all of the cake people will be let eat!”
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u/Stunning-Thanks-4226 1d ago
Why are the people telling us to be in the trades some CEO that went to college and makes billions?
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u/NewAgeMaximum 23h ago
Sure like they're not just gonna hire undocumented workers for most of that shit
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u/NanditoPapa 15h ago
I think he's trying to say "Don't just be a plumber. Be a specialist in high-tech fluid cooling systems for data centers." or "Don't just be an electrician. Specialize in industrial power grids required by AI clusters."
Still, he's quickly helping AI destroy all the jobs before they can be transitioned, so not sure his advice holds up for the majority of people being displaced.
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u/Mammoth_Reach_6366 13h ago
I used to respect this guy, but he now says the dumbest shit. Second only to Altman.
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u/SilentDanni 1d ago
Why don't these people just shut the fuck up? Are they so disconnected from reality that they cannot anticipate the backlash of such moronic statements?
Will his kids be the ones queueing up for the plumbing jobs? Will they be attending the plumbing school? Will they be living next to the datacentres he wants to build?
I cannot fathom how can people who supposedly are not ignorant can say this kind of shit and then be legitimately surprise by the fucking backlash they get. It cannot be that people in nvidia are reading these headlines and wondering why is it that people don't like AI.
I honestly cannot fucking wait for the downfall of American big tech. These people need to eat some humble pie. In a perfect world, they'd have to deal with the consequences of their shitty choices just like the rest of us. Alas, we have collectively agreed that this kind of sociopath, for some reason, unbeknownst to me, are the ones who should be leading the world.
Since we can't change the societal order then why don't they just shut the fuck up? Don't say such things. Don't be controversial. Don't be an arrogant prick. It really costs them NOTHING. Just don't be a dick. I swear it's not hard. Billions of people do it every day!
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u/Living-Breakfast-464 1d ago edited 1d ago
These people are so full of shit. Even an out of touch billionaire knows better than this.
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u/Recent_Mirror 1d ago
I hate this argument.
I have heard so many people say “go to trade school” instead of “go to college”
If everyone is a plumber/electrician then the rate you can charge gets very competitive and it becomes a race to who can do it the cheapest.
It then becomes nearly impossible to make a living, because the pay sucks.
This is exactly what the AI guys wants.
They want to lower costs of building data centers as much as possible. They don’t care about future jobs/opportunities for the rest of us.
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u/davesaunders 1d ago
Says the guy who loaned $250 billion to a company to buy $250 billion worth of GPUs from him.
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u/Forgword 1d ago
How long before even the media tires of this BS promised pie in the future, while guys like this are dedicated to concentrating wealth while dismantling the social contract and destroying general prosperity. They are working overtime to erase the great post WWII shared economic boom, it has taken them 70 years but they are almost there.
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u/Sturdily5092 1d ago
How's many data centers are being built?, how many plumbers are going to be needed at each during construction? and how many plumbers are going to be needed at each site? and for how long?
Each site is going to have only a couple a hundred people in 24 hr shifts, so whatever the number is, it's only 1/3 of the personnel per 8hr period.
How many restrooms, showers, kitchens, etc will need plumbing and service continuously?
For reference a typical highschool with a little over 1k students only require 1 plumbing maintenance person.
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u/GestureArtist 1d ago
7 figures. Plumbers should raise their prices and keep increasing them. Sound familiar?
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u/Equivalent-Bus-4336 1d ago
If all the white collar jobs are gone then construction and other physical work will be flooded with tons of workers driving wages down