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Key Takeaways Jeff Bezos says that fears of AI-driven unemployment are overblown.
He insists that the technology is more likely to create a labor shortage by making workers more productive.
Bezos is co-leading a new startup called Prometheus, which aims to build an “artificial general engineer” that can design and manufacture complex physical products, like jet engines.
Companies are already laying off workers because of AI. One recent report from executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that AI accounted for more than a quarter of U.S. job cuts in April alone, with 21,490 positions lost due to the technology.
Against this backdrop, an optimistic voice has emerged. Jeff Bezos believes that AI will lead to a “labor shortage in the economy,” not widespread job losses, he recently told The Wall Street Journal. He made the comment while launching a new AI venture called Prometheus, which focuses on boosting engineers’ productivity.
Prometheus aims to build an “artificial general engineer” capable of designing and manufacturing complex products such as jet engines and spacecraft components. Bezos told the Journal that the goal is to give engineers tools that make invention easier and faster, so smaller teams can build bigger products in far less time.
Bezos is co-chief executive of the startup, which has a valuation of about $41 billion and has recently raised $12 billion from investors, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, per the Journal. The firm has about 150 employees working in offices across San Francisco, London and Zurich.
Jeff Bezos. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP)
What sets Prometheus apart
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