AI was responsible for 4,000 job cuts last month, according to a new report. Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Artificial intelligence taking people’s jobs is not just a threat on the horizon right now. In May, 3,900 people were made redundant by technology, according to a new report.
U.S. companies cut more than 80,000 jobs last month, up 20 percent from April. Reasons for the layoffs include market conditions, restructuring and acquisitions, but for the first time AI
The nearly 4,000 AI-related layoffs are all in the tech industry, said Andy Challenger, the recruiting firm’s senior vice president. Chance. In the year It is among the sector’s biggest layoffs since the bursting of the 2001 dotcom bubble.
“While it’s surprising that technology is being cited as a reason, we believe AI will cause more job losses,” Challenger said. “The speed at which technology is evolving and adapting is amazing.”
The Challenger report did not specify which companies had AI-related job cuts.
Still, AI is creating new jobs while destroying others. JPMorgan announced 3,651 new AI-related positions between February and April; Bloomberg He reported. Many companies aren’t laying off employees because of AI, but instead are using it as a tool to help employees by taking on some of the backbreaking work.
Most Americans believe AI will eventually affect their jobs, according to a recent survey by software company Christa. But there is a big difference between what managers think and what rank and file employees think. Managers are hopeful that technology will be a boon to their work, with only 11 percent thinking it will have a negative impact on their work. However, rank-and-file workers are concerned that the technology could harm their jobs, with nearly double the number saying that AI will negatively impact their jobs.
In March, Goldman Sachs predicted that 18 percent of global jobs and a quarter of all jobs in the US and Europe could be automated. The same report shows that white-collar jobs, including computer and financial jobs, and especially management and legal jobs, are more vulnerable than blue-collar jobs that require physical labor.
That’s because AI can automate high-level tasks like compiling fund performance reports, writing code, and other tasks that would take years for humans to learn. It can instantly find the information people want to remember, and can process reams of data in minutes or seconds. With such computing power, some companies find it cheaper and more efficient to hire AI than to hire people.
Because AI will primarily eliminate white-collar jobs, some people who were previously laid off because of the technology have moved into blue-collar jobs. Former San Francisco copywriter Olivia Lipkin replaced by AI is now a dog walker The Washington Post He reported. She told him Paste Before she was fired, her co-workers referred to her as “Olivia/chatgpt” on the company’s Slack.
As AI continues to improve, the potential for large-scale layoffs and workers taking low-paying jobs increases.
The uncertainty lies in whether companies will use AI as a reason. [for termination] We’re moving forward,” Challenger said. Chance. “It remains to be seen how investors will respond to this kind of labor-intensive adoption.”
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