AI Could Eliminate 100 Million U.S. Jobs in a Decade, Sanders Warns

AI to take 97M US jobs in 10 years, says AI-aided report

Bernie Sanders calls for a robot tax and a 32-hour work week in response ai-pocalypse A US Senate committee led by Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has produced a report claiming that about 97 million US jobs could be lost to AI and automation over the next decade. There's just one problem: it got those figures from ChatGPT. According to the The US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) report [PDF], artificial intelligence and automation could displace tens of millions of American jobs over the next decade. Staff compiled the report by reviewing economic and corporate data...then asking ChatGPT to analyze federal job descriptions and estimate which occupations are most vulnerable to replacement. As a result, the data looks hallucinogenic. Here are the figures showing how many humans AI is expected to make redundant: "The same handful of oligarchs who have rigged our economy for decades -- Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and others -- are now moving as fast as they can to replace human workers with what they call 'artificial labor,'" said Sanders, who is the ranking member of HELP. "If we do not act, the result could be economic devastation for working people across this country." As an answer to this perceived jobs apocalypse, he proposes that the government should institute a "robot tax" to be paid when workers are replaced, a 32-hour working week for everyone else without reducing pay, a requirement for corporations to share profits with workers and allow them on the board of directors, a ban on union busting, and another ban on stock buybacks by corporations. But these figures are, frankly, nonsensical. AI can do many things almost as well as humans, but food service isn't one of them, nor is manual labor, and if you're trusting AI to handle your accounts, the SEC would probably like a word. On the other hand, Sanders warned that robotics could be taking over from humans. "Elon Musk has said he wants Tesla to build millions of robots. And what will these robots do? They will replace the men and women working in factories, warehouses and in restaurants. That means millions of good jobs could disappear. It's not complicated," Sanders said in an op-ed on Fox News, not the usual place you'd find the democratic socialist. But despite Elon Musk's claims about robots being able to do the jobs of humans, there's little evidence yet that this is possible in the short term. Yes, Amazon is using robots for heavy lifting in its warehouses, for example, but they fall well short of human staff. A recent Yale study also suggested that there's no evidence of a "discernible" disruption in the labor market due to AI. However, some companies, such as Salesforce and Fiverr, have cited AI as the cause of recent layoffs. The report claims that companies are laying off staff, replacing them with AI systems, and reaping huge profits (although the jury is still out on that). While there's some real danger down the road, the suggested remedies seem to bear little relation to the real-world situation that many workers find themselves in. Ironically, some of the recommendations in the report make good sense, even if they have nothing to do with AI or robotics. If the government banned stock buybacks -- which were illegal until 1982 -- it could encourage firms to invest in production and innovation instead of rewarding shareholders and supporting the share price. Intel, Boeing, and others spent billions on such schemes (which also boost CEO pay) and then went to the government for bailouts when times got hard. But fearmongering over AI with dodgy data isn't going to fix that problem, nor the chronic underinvestment in US manufacturing. Instead this looks like the standard talking points that Sanders has been banging on about for years. Increasing union representation, for example, wouldn't be a bad idea in some trades, but how HELP thinks this would solve AI issues isn't remotely clear. And, while adding paid family leave, as Sanders also suggests, would be helpful to workers, it does nothing to prevent them from being automated out of a job. If we are facing an AI-pocalypse, then specific solutions are needed, not just the usual grab-bag of old policies. ®

Exclusive: AI could erase 100 million U.S. jobs, Senate Dem report finds

Why it matters: As Washington debates how to regulate artificial intelligence, Democrats are centering the potential devastation for American workers. Driving the news: A ChatGPT-based analysis from Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee found that AI could wipe out swaths of both white- and blue-collar jobs. The report warns of the rise of "artificial labor," which it says could "reshape the economy in less than a decade." * According to the committee's findings, 89% of fast food jobs, 64% of accounting roles, and 47% of trucking positions could be replaced over the next ten years. * The report estimates that nearly 100 million total U.S. jobs could be automated in that period. What they're saying: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who led the report, said in a Fox News op-ed Monday that "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." Between the lines: Democrats argue that AI's current trajectory isn't just about innovation or productivity -- it's about concentrating wealth and power. * They say that tech executives driving the AI boom are investing billions into automation as a way to reduce labor costs and increase productivity. * The report cites major companies already adopting AI to trim payrolls: Amazon and Walmart have cut tens of thousands of jobs while expanding automation. The other side: Republicans have argued that the U.S. should lead the world in AI development and that excessive government regulation could give countries like China an advantage. Zoom in: The report also takes aim at the Trump administration's AI agenda, accusing it of ceding policymaking to Silicon Valley insiders and prioritizing deregulation over worker protection. * They say Trump's executive orders roll back federal oversight of AI and threaten to cut funding to states that attempt to regulate AI, effectively giving corporations a freer hand. What's next: The report calls for policies like a 32-hour workweek, profit-sharing, and a "robot tax."

Bernie Sanders Has a Fascinating Idea About How to Prevent AI From Wiping Out the Economy

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has weighed in with a scorching proposal to confront one of the most existential employment issues of our time: AI automation. A long-time advocate for labor rights, Sanders recently released a report about the impact AI could have on jobs over the next decade. The worst-case scenario outlined by the paper is startling: that "AI and automation could destroy nearly 100 million US jobs in a decade." The core problem, the report found, is that US workers aren't receiving their fair share of the profits, which have risen drastically in recent years. "Since 1973, there has been an explosion in technology and a massive increase in worker productivity," it reads. "But the resulting economic gains have gone almost exclusively to those at the top. While productivity has risen by 150 percent and corporate profits have increased more than 370 percent, real wages have gone down for the average American worker by nearly $30 a week." Here, Sanders is pointing to an economic issue known as the productivity-wage gap. Decades before AI was even a glimmer in Elon Musk's eye, corporations began suppressing worker's pay, even as productivity grew, allowing them to pocket the difference. As of 2024, the gulf between worker productivity and wages has become so wide that a fair minimum wage is calculated to be around $25 an hour -- over three times the current federal minimum of $7.25. AI and automation, Sanders is worried, has the potential to make that much worse. Corporate execs aren't exactly shy about it, either, as they brag about workers whose jobs they get to automate and wield AI like a cudgel to push fewer workers to toil harder for less. Either way, Sanders has a solution: a "robot tax," levied against large corporations to distribute to workers whose lives are upended by technological automation. As the report describes it, this would function as a "direct excise tax" on the tech itself, ensuring the "wealth created by these technologies are redistributed back to the workers impacted." In other words, it's a variation on the idea of a universal basic income (UBI), meted out to those directly affected by automation. "If workers are going to be replaced by robots, as will be the case in many industries, we're going to need to adapt tax and regulatory policies to assure that the change does not simply become an excuse for race-to-the-bottom profiteering by multinational corporations," Sanders wrote in his 2023 book "It's OK To Be Angry About Capitalism," per Business Insider. Whether or not the disaster scenario comes to pass remains to be seen. There's plenty of reason to be skeptical -- for example, the fact that AI is failing to generate revenue at 95 percent of the firms that roll it out. On the other hand, Sanders' proposal might not go far enough; as BI notes, even Bill Gates supports the idea -- a cautionary flag that Sanders' view might be more mainstream than you'd think. As some commentators argue, without a vastly expanded social safety net, a UBI can only ever be a band-aid fix leading to a new type of state-backed poverty. For UBI to be truly universal, it must be accompanied by worker protections like rent freezes and price controls, to say nothing of democratic control of the workplace in the first place.

100 million jobs could be wiped out from the U.S. alone thanks to AI, warns Senator Bernie Sanders | Fortune

Fast-food and customer service workers could see more than 80% of their roles disappear, while even high-skilled jobs like accounting, software development, and nursing will also likely face sharp cuts. Business leaders like Ford CEO Jim Farley and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei have sounded similar alarms about the crisis facing white-collar workers in particular, but Sanders' report marks one of the strongest warnings yet from Capitol Hill about AI's threat to the workplace. And while 100 million may seem like a large number, he admitted it could still be an underestimate. "It's not just economics," Sanders wrote in an op-ed for Fox News in conjunction with the report release. "Work, whether being a janitor or a brain surgeon, is an integral part of being human. The vast majority of people want to be productive members of society and contribute to their communities. What happens when that vital aspect of human existence is removed from our lives?" Tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg stand to profit the most from AI, Sanders said, as technology allows for the replacement of more expensive human labor. And because the AI rollout is occurring in nearly every sector, pivoting to a new career will become increasingly impossible -- and the report slammed the idea that the new technology will unlock new AI jobs. "Artificial labor could not only put millions of people out of work from their existing job. It could also replace new jobs that could have been created. A factory worker who loses their job cannot be told to learn to code if artificial labor also takes the coding job." Fortune reached out to Senator Sanders for further comment. There's one area where Sanders and many business leaders surprisingly agree: the future of work could mean fewer hours on the clock. Executives from Nvidia's Jensen Huang to JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon have predicted that advances in AI will shorten the traditional workweek, while Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has gone even further -- saying humans may soon not be needed "for most things," and that workers may only need to work two days a week within the next decade. But the 84-year-old senator warns that even if those predictions are only predictions that are partially true, it could leave millions of Americans with no way to earn a living. "What happens to the tens of millions of Americans who no longer have employment because they can't find jobs that don't exist?" Sanders questioned in his op-ed. "In this brave new world, how do these Americans pay for health care, food, housing and the other necessities of life?" To ease that transition, Sanders is proposing a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay. "Today, American workers are over 400% more productive than they were in the 1940s. Yet, millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages than they were decades ago. A 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay would reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life," the report said. While Sanders did not say who he thinks should pick up the bill, he noted that corporate profits and CEO salaries continue to grow while worker wages have stagnated. Some billionaires, including Elon Musk and Vinod Khoslam, have suggested a universal basic income could be the solution. Some Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have taken a different tone -- telling Axios that the overregulation of AI could stifle innovation or U.S. competitiveness. But despite his concerns, Sanders acknowledged AI will also likely bring many societal productivity benefits; after all, his own staff used ChatGPT to help compile the list of jobs most at risk of replacement. "Bottom line: AI and robotics will bring a profound transformation to our country," Sanders wrote. "These changes must benefit all of us, not just a handful of billionaires.

Bernie Sanders Warns AI Could Erase 100 Million Jobs - Decrypt

Experts say AI's speed and long-term job impact remains uncertain. In a YouTube video released Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) warned that artificial intelligence could erase nearly 100 million American jobs within the next decade, calling it an "issue of enormous consequence" that would deepen inequality unless lawmakers acted. His critique was based on a Senate report released on Monday by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee's minority staff, led by Sanders, outlining how robotics and AI could accelerate profits while undermining job security. The video marked Sanders' most recent call to protect workers against the threat of AI, calling out prominent tech billionaires, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Ellison, among executives investing "hundreds of billions" to replace human labor. "Why are they doing that? Is it because they want to improve the lives of the 60% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck, struggling to pay for groceries, health care, housing, and education?" Sanders asked. "Maybe they're staying up nights worrying about working families -- but I doubt it." In the report, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee asked OpenAI's ChatGPT to analyze U.S. employment data, estimating that automation could displace 97 million jobs in ten years, including major shares of fast-food, accounting, and trucking roles. "As a member of Congress who opposed the trade agreements that decimated communities across the country, I -- like most Americans -- want to see manufacturing rebuilt in the United States," Sanders said. "But new factories won't mean much if the jobs are done by robots instead of people." The report tied the automation boom to decades of rising productivity and flat wages. Since 1973, worker output has increased 150% while corporate profits have surged 370% and real wages have fallen by about $30 a week, according to the report. Sanders' statement comes at a time when the threat of AI and robotics to workers is shifting from prediction to reality, as automation begins reshaping industries from manufacturing to medicine. The International Federation of Robotics reported that global service robot adoption surged in 2024, driven by labor shortages, aging populations, and Robot-as-a-Service models. Professional sales rose 9% to nearly 200,000 units, led by transport and logistics robots at 102,900 (+14%), medical robots up 91% to 16,700, and cleaning robots up 34% to over 25,000. "Elon Musk has said he wants Tesla to build millions of robots. And what will these robots do?" Sanders said. "They'll replace the men and women working in our factories, warehouses, restaurants, and other workplaces." In October 2024, speaking at the annual Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk predicted that humanoid robots would outnumber people within two decades. "I think by 2040, probably there are more humanoid robots than there are people," Musk told the audience. "Every country will have an AI or multiple AIs, and there will be a lot of robots, way more robots than people." However, economists warned that automation is advancing fastest in offices, not factories, reshaping the professional workforce once thought safest from machines. Jobs economists say are most immediately exposed include software engineers, human resources specialists, paralegals and legal assistants, customer service representatives, financial analysts, and content creators. To blunt the impact of AI on human workers, Sanders proposed a legislative framework that includes five key points: Sanders isn't alone in calling for new protections against AI and robotics. In his campaign for California governor, futurist Zoltan Istvan proposed a universal basic income and "a humanoid robot in every home," arguing that automation could create prosperity only if its benefits were shared broadly.

Sanders: AI may take 100 million jobs in the next 10 years

Bernie Sanders says in a new ChatGPT-assisted report released Monday that AI and automation could eliminate nearly 100 million jobs over the next decade. Titled "Big Tech Oligarchs' War Against Workers: AI and Automation Could Destroy Nearly 100 Million U.S Jobs in a Decade," the report estimates that AI will automate away the jobs of 89% of fast food and counter workers, 64% of accountants, and 47% of truck drivers. "The artificial intelligence and robotics being developed by . . . today will allow corporate America to wipe out tens of millions of decent-paying jobs, cut labor costs and boost profits," Sanders, an Independent from Vermont and ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, wrote in an op-ed on Fox News. "The result? The wealthiest people in the world will get even richer, while working people lose their jobs and their income." The report was compiled by Sanders and committee staffers, who derived their job loss estimates by asking ChatGPT how completely AI can automate various job tasks that are considered core or supplemental to more than 700 job types identified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Almost 100M jobs could be lost to AI, automation: Senate report

A Senate report released Monday says AI and automation could replace nearly 100 million jobs across various industries over the next decade. The report, conducted by Democratic staffers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), outlines how AI and automation will impact the American economy and workforce. Sanders, the ranking member on the HELP Committee, has warned of the consequences widespread use of AI and automation can have for workers. As part of their investigation, staffers asked ChatGPT, OpenAI's chatbot, to predict the impact of AI and automation on certain industries. Of the 20 workforces ChatGPT said would be most affected by the technological rush, 15 will see more than half of their workforces replaced by AI and automation over the next decade. The workforce most impacted will be fast food and counter employees. According to the report, more than 3 million fast food and counter workers will be replaced over the next 10 years, accounting for 89 percent of the workforce. Other workforces that will be significantly affected include customer service representatives, laborers and freight, stock and material movers and secretaries and executive assistants -- not including legal, medical and executive positions. The report said that 83 percent, 81 percent and 80 percent of those workforces, respectively, will be replaced in the next decade. The report also calls for policy changes to provide guardrails for workers amid the move to AI and automation, saying the impact of AI and automation "will be determined by a set of choices." It calls for, among other pieces of legislation, a standardized 32-hour work week, extended overtime and break protections, a minimum wage of at least $17 an hour, elimination of tax loopholes for corporations that use AI and automation and requirements for corporations to give workers a stake in the business. Sanders, in a Fox News op-ed published Monday, doubled down on the report's findings, saying increased technological capacity risks "dehumanizing" individuals. "We do not simply need a more 'efficient' society," Sanders said. "We need a world where people live healthier, happier and more fulfilling lives."

AI Could Wipe Out 100 Million Jobs In The Next 10 Years, Senate Report Warns -- 'We Must Ensure Workers Benefit From AI, Not Just Billionaires' - JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

A new report from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's minority staff paints a troubling picture of how artificial intelligence and automation could reshape the American workforce over the next decade. Corporations Are Rushing Toward "Artificial Labor" According to the report, nearly 100 million U.S. jobs could be replaced by AI and automation within 10 years. Occupations most at risk include fast food workers, 89% of whom could be replaced; customer service reps, 83%; office clerks, cashiers, truck drivers, and even white-collar workers like accountants, 64%, and software developers, 54%. "We may be building new factories and warehouses in America, but they will be staffed by robots, not workers," Sanders warned in a recent post on X. Don't Miss: Forget Flipping Houses -- This $36 Trillion Asset Class Lets You Invest Without Owning Property This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, with minimum investments as low as $100. The report claims companies are pouring billions into replacing human labor with what it calls "artificial labor," combining AI and robotics to do the jobs of people at all skill levels. Major corporations like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Walmart (NYSE:WMT), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) have already laid off thousands while investing heavily in AI technologies. Many are openly saying AI will allow them to shrink their workforce. "As a result of AI and robotics, there will be massive blue-collar and white-collar job losses," Sanders wrote on X. "The technology revolution must benefit ordinary Americans, not just a handful of billionaires." Sanders also raised concerns about the environmental cost of AI. He pointed to the enormous energy demands of data centers and their strain on water and power resources. Trending: Have $100k+ to invest? Charlie Munger says that's the toughest milestone -- don't stall now. Get matched with a fiduciary advisor and keep building Billionaires Stand To Profit While Workers Are Left Behind Since 1973, productivity in the U.S. has soared 150%, and corporate profits have jumped 370%. But during that same time, real wages for the average worker have declined. The richest 1% now own more wealth than the bottom 93% of Americans combined, the report says. The report singles out billionaires like Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, Meta (NASDAQ:META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Executive Chair Larry Ellison, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, saying their investments in AI are not about improving lives but about boosting their own fortunes. The richest people in the world are investing in AI to "create unbelievable fortunes for themselves and make themselves even more powerful than they already are," Sanders posted on X. See Also: Backed by $300M+ in Assets and Microsoft's Climate Fund, Farmland LP Opens Vital Farmland III to Accredited Investors Proposals To Protect Workers The Senate report outlines several proposals to ensure working people aren't left behind. These include implementing a 32-hour workweek without a reduction in pay, requiring corporations to grant 20 percent ownership to workers, ensuring worker representation on corporate boards, enacting a "robot tax" to support those displaced by automation, and strengthening unions through the passage of pro-labor legislation. "We must ensure workers benefit from AI and automation, not just billionaires," the report recommends. Read Next: Are you rich? Here's what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. Image: Shutterstock AMZNAmazon.com Inc$226.472.12%OverviewJPMJPMorgan Chase & Co$306.06-0.53%METAMeta Platforms Inc$718.070.70%ORCLOracle Corp$291.032.39%TSLATesla Inc$436.380.76%UNHUnitedHealth Group Inc$370.261.81%WMTWalmart Inc$102.78-0.44%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

AI could wipe out 100M US jobs - from nurses to truck drivers -...

Artificial intelligence and automation could wipe out nearly 100 million jobs in the US over the next decade, according to a report released by Senate Democrats on Monday. The analysis - ironically based on ChatGPT findings - found the new tech could erase jobs from a wide range of fields, including white- and blue-collar roles. AI, automation and robotics could hit 40% of registered nurses, 47% of truck drivers, 64% of accountants, 65% of teaching assistants and 89% of fast food workers, according to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.). "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." Debates over AI regulation have been heating up in Washington. The Trump administration has argued that the US should lead the world in AI development, arguing that it could pose a national security threat if China wins the race. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are calling for increased regulation on the sector - as well as worker protections like a 32-hour workweek and a "robot tax" on companies switching to automation. Amazon and Walmart - two of the largest publicly-traded US companies by revenue - have already slashed tens of thousands of jobs as they have leaned into automation efforts. In an op-ed for Fox News on Monday, Sanders 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." He argued that AI is simply being used as a tool to further concentrate wealth, nodding to CEOs who have invested billions into automation while announcing mass layoffs and cost-cutting measures. Sanders warned of a devastating hit to workers in the manufacturing industry, as well as truck, bus and taxi drivers, as automakers and tech startups increasingly ramp up their self-driving projects. "Some of the very wealthiest people in the world, including Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos - are now investing hundreds of billions into these revolutionary technologies," Sanders wrote in his op-ed. "Why is that? Is it because they want to improve the standard of living of the 60% of our people who live paycheck-to-paycheck - Americans who are struggling to pay for groceries, healthcare, housing and education? Maybe. But I doubt it." "I think it's because investing in AI and robotics will increase their wealth and power exponentially," he continued.