White House adviser Kratsios says firms blame AI for layoffs
Is AI really to blame for all the recent tech layoffs?
Michael Kratsios, the White House science and technology adviser, isn't so sure.
On a recent podcast, he said some companies might be using AI as an easy excuse for job cuts that are actually part of bigger business moves.
In his words: "I think like a lot of folks these days, like when they're doing a layoff that they would have done anyway, just like to assign it or blame it to AI because it plays better in the press," Kratsios said.
Executives defend AI amid layoffs
The connection between AI and layoffs isn't simple: Microsoft cut around 4,800 jobs while continuing to expand its AI investments, while Meta moved roughly 7,000 employees into AI-focused teams while cutting around 8,000 positions.
Despite worries about automation taking jobs, Kratsios believes AI will also create fresh opportunities and shouldn't just get blamed for every workforce shakeup, while Sam Altman said AI is being blamed for problems such as job losses and rising energy consumption, and Jeff Bezos rejected predictions of mass unemployment and argued productivity could lower costs and expand economic activity.