AT&T CFO Pascal Desroches: AI will create more jobs than it kills

The Nov. 5 conversation at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas brought together two brothers whose careers span higher education and corporate finance, giving the discussion a rare dual vantage point on AI's effects. Pascal Desroches, AT&T's CFO, drew on the internet's impact on retail to argue that technological disruption has historically created new industries even as it displaced traditional jobs. His caution that the current transition may cause more dislocation than past shifts, and his call for business, government and education to collaborate on retraining, point to a gap between long-term optimism and near-term workforce strain.

Reginald DesRoches, Rice University's eighth president, described AI as a fundamental shift in how universities conduct research and teach, citing applications in drug and materials discovery and flood prediction. Rice's plans for an undergraduate AI major and a master's program in fall 2027 reflect an institution adapting its curriculum, while he pushed back on the idea that AI reduces the need for professors by emphasizing mentorship and undergraduate research, which about 70% of Rice students participate in. The brothers' shared immigrant background and emphasis on service framed the discussion, with Reginald noting that education's purpose is to transform lives.