People are not machines - but your AI co-worker won't care

More than 70% of Americans are in a panic over whether they will lose their jobs to artificial intelligence, a new poll indicates, and there is every reason to be worried; the layoffs have already begun. But those who end up keeping their jobs may not be much happier with the changes AI is bringing.

A new startup, Kuse AI, has created an AI office employee named Junior that keeps track of every human employee's email, pace of work and progress on projects, attends every Zoom meeting and constantly reports to the boss while sending persistent notices to co-workers to pick up the pace. And, however polite the prodding may be, there is no way to permanently please a snoopy machine designed to set ever-higher productivity goals for human workers. Junior, after all, is on the job 24 hours a day with no need for sleep, no outside interests, no family, no tiring body and no need for simple musing, daydreaming or goofing off.

Bringing this AI employee onboard will cost companies $2,000 monthly, according to Bloomberg, and there are already more than 2,000 businesses lining up to give their own Juniors a tryout. That is no surprise since increased productivity has become the number one goal of American capitalism.

This insane push for perfect efficiency has already made millions of American workers miserable and AI is likely to make it worse. Human beings are not designed to be forever on task, forever proficient, forever under watch and forever chasing a constantly rising bar - at least not happy, normal, fulfilled humans. People are not machines.

Artificial intelligence is not merely nonhuman. In the way it is being implemented by bosses who care only about enriching themselves and their stockholders, AI is anti-human.

See more of David Horsey's cartoons at: st.news/davidhorsey

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