Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder and CEO of Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), said he believed artificial intelligence would create labour shortages rather than replace human workers.
He made the comments on Wednesday while outlining an optimistic vision for the technology’s future at a major conference in Paris.
Speaking at the VivaTech technology conference, Bezos rejected concerns that artificial intelligence will eventually make large segments of the workforce obsolete. Instead, he argued that AI will increase productivity, remove barriers to innovation and create demand for new forms of work.
The comments come as companies worldwide invest heavily in artificial intelligence while reducing staff. Amazon itself has since eliminated roughly 30,000 corporate positions since late last year. Additionally, chief executive Andy Jassy previously said that growing adoption of AI tools would reduce the need for some corporate roles.
Recent labour data has intensified concerns about the technology’s impact on employment. U.S.-based employers announced 97,006 job cuts in May, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. The firm linked 40 per cent of those layoffs to artificial intelligence.
Public concern remains widespread. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released this month found that roughly half of Americans believe artificial intelligence could threaten their own job or the employment of someone in their household.
Meanwhile, resistance to AI adoption has emerged across several industries. Workers entering the labour market, Hollywood screenwriters and labour unions at South Korean automakers have all expressed concerns about the technology’s growing influence.
However, Bezos argued that people will continue finding meaningful work because human wants and ambitions remain effectively limitless. He said society currently faces productivity constraints that artificial intelligence can help remove.
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Bezos remains optimistic about impact of new tech
According to Bezos, AI will expand opportunities rather than eliminate them. He suggested advances in automation will free people to focus on new industries that do not yet exist.
The entrepreneur also discussed his space company, Blue Origin, and its long-term ambitions.
Bezos said one purpose of expanding industrial activity into space is to reduce environmental pressures on Earth. He argued that access to resources from nearby celestial bodies could shift manufacturing away from the planet.
Consequently, he said Earth could one day recover much of the environmental impact associated with industrial development.
Blue Origin chief executive David Limp joined Bezos during the discussion. Limp said reconstruction has begun on the company’s New Glenn launch pad in Florida after an explosion damaged the facility in May.
Furthermore, Bezos discussed his artificial intelligence startup Prometheus. He said this aims to accelerate physical manufacturing processes through AI-powered tools.
The discussion also touched on competition within the private space sector. Blue Origin continues to compete with Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) (NASDAQ: SPCX) as both companies pursue ambitious plans for commercial space travel, industrial development and future expansion beyond Earth.
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