Victor Lazarte, general partner at venture capital firm Benchmark, has challenged the common narrative that artificial intelligence (AI) is meant to augment human workers rather than replace them. Speaking on the podcast The Twenty Minute VC, Lazarte bluntly stated, “It’s bulls—t. It’s fully replacing people.” He highlighted two professions—lawyers and recruiters—as being particularly vulnerable to AI-driven disruption in the near future.
AI Revolutionizes Legal Industry, Automating Tasks and Reshaping Future Law Career Paths
In the legal field, Lazarte believes AI will soon handle the bulk of junior-level tasks such as research and documentation, traditionally carried out by fresh law graduates. This shift is already underway. Legal tech company Libra recently enhanced its AI to manage nearly every aspect of legal work, from drafting to analysis.
Additionally, the American Bar Association has recommended AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot to legal professionals. A study from the University of Michigan even found that law students improved their legal analyses by 28% with AI assistance.
Benchmark Partner Calls AI a Full Job Replacement as Legal and Hiring Sectors Face Rapid OverhaulThe legal sector’s embrace of AI isn’t just academic—it’s strategic. A July 2024 survey by Thomson Reuters, involving over 2,000 professionals and executives, revealed that law firms have named AI as their top strategic focus. This reflects a growing consensus that legal services will be significantly transformed by machine learning tools in the coming years, which could ultimately reshape traditional career paths in law.
AI Transforms Recruitment While Empowering Lean Teams to Build Billion-Dollar Startups
Recruitment is another field undergoing a swift AI takeover. Many companies already use AI to screen applications, with 99% of Fortune 500 firms relying on such systems. More notably, AI is now conducting interviews: over 40% of businesses in 2024 reported using AI to interact directly with candidates during hiring processes. Startups like OptimHire, ConverzAI, and Mercor are capitalizing on this trend by offering AI-powered recruiting solutions, raising millions in funding and attracting clients like OpenAI.
Despite concerns about job displacement, Lazarte sees a silver lining in AI’s disruptive potential. He believes AI will empower smaller teams to build massive, billion-dollar enterprises. “You’re going to have these trillion-dollar companies being done by very small teams,” he said. Benchmark, which has backed major companies like Snap, Asana, and Uber, appears poised to support the next wave of AI-driven startups.