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AI promises efficiency, but it’s also amplifying labour inequality

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yesterday

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more integrated into workplace systems and operations, it’s reshaping both how work tasks are completed and the very experience of work itself.

For many employees, AI is stress-testing their tolerance for uncertainty and job insecurity. Some positions are being automated entirely. Others are becoming redundant. In many cases, full-time roles are being reduced to part-time or contract work.

These changes have been very visible in this year’s news headlines. UPS, for example, announced 20,000 layoffs in April while expressing interest in deploying humanoid robots from Figure AI to take over warehouse tasks.

Recently, this disruption has moved beyond front-line roles. Amazon has revealed plans to cut 14,000 corporate jobs to reorganize around AI-enhanced efficiency. Microsoft laid off roughly 6,000 employees — most of them software engineers and programmers — as AI systems now generate up to 30 per cent of new code on its projects.

Employees do not stand on equal footing in the face of these changes, nor do they experience the same level of vulnerability. The capacity to respond to........

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