The early 2020s were riddled with talk of AI. Played off as something in the distant future, AI promised massive efficiency and automation in the workplace. It was the wave of the future. Millions if not billions of dollars to be saved (by corporations). So, it was fast-tracked. And, while 90s kids dreamed of flying cars and robotic housekeepers, we found ourselves queuing up in the unemployment line.
Mass layoffs are announced at an unprecedented rate. And companies are spending remarkable amounts of money to replace their human workforce. Although it’s all happening faster than the technology can develop, corporations can’t lose investors – they must keep face. How can they maintain the look of innovation and growth throughout their AI experimentation?
According to Forbes, there’s such a high number of fraudulent job listings that 5 state legislatures in the US are reviewing new bills to curb the problem. But it doesn’t stop there. ATS systems are often AI-powered, and applicants report higher rates of ghosting and rejection. Many claim you “have to understand the system” to win, but hundreds of applications per person beg to differ. And while the US-government claims job openings are at an all time high, citizens are experiencing unemployment by AI design. How? AI ATS systems reject human applicants, claiming lack of qualification. Essentially, not only is AI equaling layoffs, but AI is equaling fake jobs.
Thus, action, meet consequence. Consequence, meet action.
Take Ford for example. They swapped an entire quality assurance line for hundreds of AI cameras. A full team replacement for a large dose of artificial “intelligence”. An over-reliance leading to massive flaws, and eventually the rehire of 350 veteran engineers. Talk about Uno reverse. And while there are no numbers to evaluate what the AI swap cost, Yahoo reports the rehire (of human beings) led to “hundreds of millions in the net positive.”
On the surface, AI promises efficiency and fewer blunders for a decreased struggle with humanity. Claiming to improve delayed reasoning, etc., while operating within a complete lack of situational awareness. Realistically, AI is not improving, but pushing for rejection of humanity.
One must wonder, who is asking for this?
And at the same time, younger generations of the work force are cast as a convenient scapegoat. Labeled ‘incompetent’, ‘lazy’, or ‘unmotivated’, Gen Z and Millennials have become a cultural punching bag for an economy that already failed them. Labels that were never about work ethic but, rather, a prelude. A way to justify the ends. Pushing adoption of AI’s assurances before the promise of efficiency could be fulfilled. It was never about helping the workforce be more efficient. It was about making the human workforce optional. And, somewhere along the way, corporations convinced themselves that swallowing the poison of total automation was the cure for every ailment.
Because the truth is, a mistrust between employees and employers did not begin with AI. It zoomed in on a pattern that’s always been there – believing in machines first and foremost. AI became the most attractive solution in the room to erasing a very ancient problem: the human element. But, in their rush toward automation, the final threads of trust are drifting into the debris of collateral damage. Can the dust settle?