Eric Hippeau, managing partner of Lerer Hippeau Ventures, discusses how investors should respond to the development of AI in The Claman Countdown.
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, artificial intelligence (AI) cost several thousand people their jobs in May.
In its monthly report released Thursday, the company said U.S. employers cited AI as the reason for 3,900 layoffs, about 4.9% of May’s job cuts.
According to Business Insider, Challenger, Gray & Christmas had never listed AI as an option prior to Thursday’s release.
Illustration on artificial intelligence May 4, 2023 (Portal/Dado Ruvic / Portal photos)
In May, US companies said over 80,000 jobs would be cut, the report said. These cuts brought the total number of job cuts announced by US employers since early 2023 to about 417,500.
IBM suspends hiring of certain positions that could be replaced by AI
According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas report, business closures were the leading reason for layoffs in May, resulting in the loss of 19,600 jobs. Behind this were “market/economic conditions” for about 14,600 and “no reason given” for 12,900, the report said.
According to the outplacement firm, economic conditions have led to the most announced job cuts in the five months of 2023, citing nearly 206,300 jobs.
Hundreds of media industry workers have been laid off during a brutal period when Warner Bros., Discovery, Gannett and others cut jobs as news organizations were plagued by economic uncertainty. (Getty/Getty Images)
The 417,500 layoffs announced this year represented the “highest total from January to May since 2020, when 1,414,828 layoffs were recorded,” said Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
These jobs are safe from the AI revolution — for now
As the field of AI grows in popularity and more AI-powered tools become available, questions have arisen about how the technology will impact workplaces.
Earlier this year, a Goldman Sachs report suggested that some form of AI automation could be deployed to about two-thirds of U.S. positions, with about 25-50% of their day-to-day work potentially done by the technology. The researchers behind the report also found that “most jobs and industries are only partially exposed to automation and are therefore more likely to be complemented by AI than replaced,” according to Goldman Sachs.
Dan Schneider, vice president of MRC Free Speech America, worries that AI could pose an “ever greater threat” to conservative thinking than social media. (Portal/Dado Ruvic/Illustration / Portal photos)
As AI becomes more widespread, jobs that did not exist before AI could also develop, the report says.
According to WEF survey, the world will shed 14 million jobs by 2027
Separately, the World Economic Forum recently found that 50% of companies believe AI will “lead to more jobs” and 25% believe it will “lead to job losses.”
Eric Revell contributed to this report.