You can't take these things in a vacuum. Labor has gotten weaker over time. AI just gives more power to employers.
Take Klarna. They laid off 700 people, realized it was a mistake, but they are hiring people back as gig workers [0]. Not proper employees with a salary and benefits. The thing about the US in particular is that a job is not just a job. It's your social safety net, as too many welfare programs have onerous work requirements. Employers know this. They have way too much power, probably more than ever before in our lifetimes. AI gives them that much more power.
This is a relatively easy fix - separate benefits from specific jobs.
There's a strong social element to jobs - it's not just money, it's your friends. But that's an easy fix too - forming social units not based on employers. Unions used to fill this role, as did guilds, and just plain clubs.
Take Klarna. They laid off 700 people, realized it was a mistake, but they are hiring people back as gig workers [0]. Not proper employees with a salary and benefits. The thing about the US in particular is that a job is not just a job. It's your social safety net, as too many welfare programs have onerous work requirements. Employers know this. They have way too much power, probably more than ever before in our lifetimes. AI gives them that much more power.
0 - https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/klarnas-ai-replaced-...