Description

The evidence that AI can eliminate jobs is piling up. Amazon said recently it would lay off 14,000 corporate workers in an effort to become more nimble. The cuts weren't directly tied to AI, but the CEO previously said the workforce would shrink as Amazon continues to embrace AI. Target and UPS announced similar layoffs.

Meanwhile, software vendors announced reductions that were explicitly caused by AI. For example, Salesforce cut 4,000 customer support positions weeks after its CEO said AI was already doing nearly half the work.

In this episode, we examine AI's impact on jobs from the worker's point of view, with insights from people who maintain AI data centers, test the accuracy of search engines and use AI to automate some of their tasks.

Featuring: Shannon Wait, Senior Organizer, Alphabet Workers Union-CWA

In today's episode, we'll also cover:

• Efforts to unionize workers to protect them from AI's negative effects.
• Federal and state legislation regarding AI and jobs.
• Whether AI will be beneficial to jobs in the long run.

References:

• Amazon to cut 14K roles in effort to stay 'nimble'
• AFL-CIO report, "Artificial intelligence: Principles to protect workers"
• AWU-CWA report: "Ghost workers in the AI machine"

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