Chances are, you’ve seen media reports of the viral artificial intelligence (AI) sensation ChatGPT, which launched in November last year. 

The technology, which can almost instantly create thoughtful responses based on user prompts, is making a lot of creative professionals nervous. Copywriters, authors, artists and lawyers are worried about being replaced in a few years. One high school teacher who has taught English for 12 years calls the writing technology “the end of high school English.” 

Ten years later the English economist David Ricardo published “Principles of Political Economy,” where he argued that the machinery of the early Industrial Revolution threatened workers. And in 1952, Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s novel “Piano Player” laid out a dystopia where advanced machines made almost every human unemployable. 

Fears of machines replacing workers are nothing new. And with the economy creating 223,000 jobs last month, and over 10 million in the previous two years alone, it’s safe to say those centuries-old fears were overblown. 

Even so, there’s no denying that new technologies and machines have made many people’s jobs obsolete over time. Eventually, economies adjust, and the new industries that these new technologies create will employ more people. But that doesn't make it less painful for tens of millions of workers who are caught in the transition. 

Surprisingly, pure-play AI stocks aren’t as common as you would think. It’s possible that Microsoft manages to lay claim to billions of dollars of market share — but for a company already valued at $1.8 trillion, that may not move the needle much for investors. 

See more on startup investing from Benzinga.