Senator Bernie Sanders has called on the tech industry to ensure workers reap the benefits of AI

Senator Bernie Sanders has called on the tech industry to ensure workers reap the benefits of artificial intelligence and robotics, rather than just corporate CEOs. He advocates for a shorter workweek, citing the need for better work-life balance and more paid time off. In an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, Sanders said that the time saved with AI tools should be given back to workers to spend with their families. “Let’s use technology to benefit workers,” Sanders said. “That means give you more time with your family, with your friends, for education, whatever the hell you wanna do.” AI to benefit both the employee and the CEO The relationship between AI and employees is a bittersweet one. However, it is leaning more toward the bitter side. This is because AI is threatening to take their jobs. Statistically , nine out of ten employers plan to use AI-enabled solutions and generative AI over the next five years. In addition, research done by Forbes revealed that 52% of more than 5,000 professionals are afraid of how AI will affect their jobs. Therefore, the concept of AI being of benefit to the employees would be a relief to most people because an increase in efficiency could mean that they can finish their current tasks faster without losing pay. “Technology is gonna work to improve us, not just the people who own the technology and the CEOs of large corporations,” Sanders said. “You are a worker, your productivity is increasing because we give you AI, right? Instead of throwing you out on the street, I’m gonna reduce your work week to 32 hours.” On the other hand, the tech elite have their benefit because of the idea that AI will make companies more productive. This will allow companies to do even more because their workers will be able to take on more tasks, or they can save money by cutting staff. Companies that have seen success through AI adoption “And by the way, not a radical idea,” Sanders said. “There are companies around the world that are doing it with some success.” For instance, in the UK, 61 companies with a total of 2,900 workers tried out a four-day work week in the second half of 2022. Nineteen of the 23 companies that shared financial information saw their sales stay about the same or go up by 1.4% from the start of the study to the end. Also, Kickstarter has had a four-day work week since 2021, and Microsoft Japan tried out a four-day work week in 2019 and said it made them 40% more productive. In addition, companies like IBM, Shopify, and Coca-Cola, which were early users of AI solutions, used to only use the technology for routine tasks. Now, they use it to boost employee productivity and speed up top-line growth directly. Analysts think that the global AI market will continue to grow and reach a value of more than $240 billion. AI adoption by the industry is growing by up to 20% each year. Generative AI use rose from 55% to 75% between 2023 and 2024. Companies get a 3.7x return on every dollar they spend on GenAI and such technologies. Goldman Sachs predicted that AI will add 15% to the world’s GDP over the next ten years. J.P. Morgan is less optimistic. The firm predicted that the price would go up by 8% to 9%. Daron Acemoğlu, an economics professor at MIT, predicted it will only add 1% to 1.5% to growth. Your crypto news deserves attention - KEY Difference Wire puts you on 250+ top sites