The technology is being developed not for public benefit, but to increase corporate profits, Senator Benie Sanders has claimed
Artificial intelligence and automation technologies pose a threat to nearly 100 million jobs in the US over the next decade, according to a report released on Monday by Senator Bernie Sanders.
The report suggests the disruption will be widespread, affecting both white- and blue-collar professions.
According to Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, AI and automation could replace 40% of registered nurses, 47% of truck drivers, 64% of accountants, 65% of teaching assistants, and 89% of fast food workers.
“The agricultural revolution unfolded over thousands of years. The industrial revolution took more than a century,” the report said. “Artificial labor could reshape the economy in less than a decade.”
The warning contrasts with the stance of the Trump administration, which has championed American leadership in AI development, arguing that losing the technological race to China poses a national security threat.
In an opinion piece for Fox News accompanying the report, Sanders questioned the motives behind these massive investments, noting that “some of the very wealthiest people in the world,” including Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, are pouring hundreds of billions into the technology.
He warned that the “artificial intelligence and robotics being developed by these multi-billionaires today will allow corporate America to wipe out tens of millions of decent-paying jobs, cut labor costs and boost profits.”
Sanders argued that the technology is being leveraged primarily to increase corporate profits and concentrate wealth, citing executives who have announced significant investments in automation concurrently with mass layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.
The senator warned that workers in manufacturing, trucking, and taxi services face a particularly severe impact from the rapid advancement of self-driving projects by automakers and tech companies.
He also expressed skepticism that their goal was to uplift the “60% of our people who live paycheck-to-paycheck” and believes the true driver is because “investing in AI and robotics will increase their wealth and power exponentially.”
The trend is already underway, with corporate giants Amazon and Walmart having eliminated tens of thousands of positions as they intensify automation.
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