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By Paul Steidler
Vermont U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders is raising alarms about artificial intelligence and robotics, warning that they could destroy nearly 100 million U.S. jobs in a decade, according to an October 6 press release.
Simply put, there is no real-world evidence to back up the Senator’s claims. It also appears he is using fear about AI to jump-start his socialist economic agenda.
Since November 2022, when the AI chatbot ChatGPT emerged, there have been widespread predictions about AI leading to job losses that have not occurred. In fact, AI is leading to greater productivity at small businesses as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently documented.
As Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Sanders directed the issuance of the October 6 report and wrote about it in a lengthy Fox News Op-Ed.
In the Op-Ed, Sanders frames AI development as a “war against workers” orchestrated by what he calls “Big Tech oligarchs” — Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Larry Ellison.
Senator Sanders’ proposed solutions include mandatory 32-hour work weeks, required worker representation of at least 45 percent on corporate boards, a “robot tax” on companies that automate jobs, and expanded employee ownership requirements. The robot tax would levy fees on large corporations that replace human workers with AI and automation, with proceeds distributed to displaced workers.
His report cites predictions that 89% of fast-food jobs and 47% of trucking positions could be automated. Yet, it does not address the potential for new industries and roles these innovations might generate.
For many decades, America had hundreds of thousands of telephone operators. Today, they are gone. Our dynamic free-market economy has replaced those jobs and many others. The digital revolution creates new opportunities that previously did not exist.
Senator Sanders’ proposed robot tax, however, would penalize innovation. While China accelerates AI innovation, Senator Sanders would burden innovative U.S. companies with added taxes and regulations while overhauling fundamental business operations.
There are important issues that must be addressed as America transitions to an AI-centered economy, including worker retraining and helping workers obtain new careers. Unfortunately, the flawed analysis and fear-mongering that Senator Sanders trumpets do nothing to get us there.
Author is Senior Fellow at Lexington Institute.
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Categories: Commentary, Congress, Science and Technology
Friends-
Senator Sanders may be at least partially correct when he says that jobs may be at ris with robotics in play. When companies use robots in their assembly process, they replace humans. So, there is a “loss” here of jobs.
He helped create the doom and gloom.There is light coming through the shadows now .
Since the dawn of the industrial age, ingenuity has eliminated the need for many forms of human labor so people have had to adapt their skills to remain useful. The scenario of computers taking on the role of humans, and the potential pitfalls of that dependency was prophesized over 50 years ago in the Kubric movie 2001, A Space Odyssey. Bernie is not concerned about progress, he is concerned about the loss of union jobs…and the resulting campaign contributions from unions, either public or private sector. There are many valid reasons to be cautious about AI, but Bernie’s concerns are not worth entertaining. As with the advent of the cotton gin, the steam engine, the piston engine, the jet engine, nuclear reactors and solar panels, these technologies all require humans to build and maintain them. Bernie has forged a lucrative out of his fearmongering.