Exposure, Adoption, and Displacement

Three Different Things Most People Treat as One

The public conversation about AI and jobs collapses three distinct concepts into one undifferentiated threat — and the confusion produces both unnecessary panic and false reassurance. Exposure measures what AI could theoretically do to a job's tasks. Adoption measures what AI is actually being used for right now. Displacement documents what has actually occurred in the labor market. This brief separates the three, explains the gaps between them, and identifies the one early signal that is concrete, corroborated, and consequential for career planning.