Verizon CEO Dan Schulman predicts the emergence of artificial general intelligence within the next six to 18 months. Speaking at the Ford Pro Accelerate event in Detroit, he noted that current AI models are rapidly evolving, with significant performance improvements occurring every two months.
The company is transitioning to an AI-native operational model. Verizon has allocated an initial $20 million for employee retraining, with the potential to increase this investment to $60 million. Schulman anticipates that AI and robotics could drive a 20% to 30% increase in unemployment over the next two to five years.
Verizon is focused on building the infrastructure required for AI, including a four-layer technology stack scheduled for completion by November 2026. The company has secured a $1 billion agreement with Google for dark fiber and is actively pursuing additional partnerships in edge computing.
Financial contributions from these infrastructure initiatives are expected to materialize by 2027. The company continues to negotiate further deals to support the growing demand for AI-related network capacity.
