Time to learn a trade

Artificial intelligence is killing jobs. White-collar jobs. Tens of thousands of jobs. It’s also killing job prospects for people fresh out of universities. There’s a lot of killing going on, apparently. Also, higher electricity bills. But hey, we need to fork out $4.3 trillion every year between now and 2060 to achieve net zero because we must achieve net zero. It’s the corporate/political version of Rachel’s Thanksgiving trifle.

I must admit I haven’t really been following the AI hype closely outside its energy demand aspect but even I’ve noticed people complaining that AI is taking over their jobs. Voice actors, I gather, are being thrown out in the cold. Graphic designers, obviously. Call centre operatives. Now, the wave has reached HR and marketing departments and it’s spreading. Even software engineers are not safe. Talk about Frankenstein’s monster killing its creator.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on over 30,000 layoffs from just three companies: Amazon, UPS, and Target. Fortune wrote that “Job openings have plunged 32% since ChatGPT’s debut”. Per the FT, “US companies announced almost 1mn job cuts in the year to September, the most since the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, according to figures from recruitment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.” As tens of thousands of people find themselves in the unenviable position of having to look for a job, any job, monthly bills keep climbing. It’s not a recipe for a disaster at all.