Abstract: The deployment of large language models has sparked anxieties about widespread technological unemployment, yet existing evaluations predominantly assess theoretical "exposure" to AI capabilities while ignoring critical adoption frictions. This article synthesizes recent empirical research demonstrating that occupational displacement is not instantaneous but incremental, constrained less by algorithmic limits than by liability, compliance, and physical safety considerations. Drawing on the Tech-Risk Dual-Factor Model framework, we examine how organizations navigate the tension between technical feasibility and commercial viability when integrating AI into work processes. Evidence reveals a profound "Cognitive Risk Asymmetry": non-routine cognitive roles dependent on symbolic manipulation face unprecedented exposure, while unstructured physical trades and high-stakes caregiving remain structurally insulated. Rather than mass extinction, the immediate future involves aggressive task reallocation toward legally mandated Human-in-the-Loop systems, where human value shifts from execution to auditing and risk absorption—potentially heralding a "Compliance Premium" in wage structures.
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