Paris, France. Jeff Bezos said artificial intelligence will lead to labour shortages rather than make humans redundant, presenting an optimistic view of the technology at the VivaTech conference on Wednesday.
His comments came amid continued job cuts by global companies following major investments in AI and growing public concern about the technology’s effect on employment.
Bezos outlines optimistic view of AI
Bezos said technology would help humanity and highlighted projects including his space venture Blue Origin and his AI startup Prometheus, which is focused on accelerating physical manufacturing.
“I know there’s a lot of concern that many people have, including many smart people, that AI is going to make humans redundant and so on,” Bezos said. “I totally disagree with this point of view. And I think, in fact, AI is going to create a labor shortage.”
He said people have “endless” things to do and are currently limited by barriers that AI would help lower.
Job cuts and public concern
Bezos’ remarks came as companies around the world have cut thousands of jobs after investing heavily in AI, with many, especially technology firms, citing improved efficiency from rapid adoption of the technology.
U.S.-based employers announced 97,006 job cuts in May, with AI linked to 40% of the layoffs, according to a report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll published this month found that half of Americans fear the rise of AI could put them or someone in their household out of work.
There has also been broad resistance to AI use, from Gen Z workers entering the job market to unions at South Korean carmakers and Hollywood scriptwriters.
Amazon and space ambitions
Amazon has cut about 30,000 corporate roles since late last year, partly because of AI-driven efficiency gains. Chief Executive Andy Jassy has previously said greater automation through AI tools would lead to corporate job losses.
Bezos, whose net worth is around $250 billion and who is ranked as the world’s fourth-richest person, also said one goal of space exploration is to move polluting industries off Earth.
His company Blue Origin is seeking to compete in rockets with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
