“WINNERS” AND “LOSERS” IN THE EVOLVING JOB MARKETS

“Why hire a human when you could use AI?”

David Barnhizer

“Gasping for Air”

“‘I never imagined it would be this difficult’: College graduates face toughest job market in more than a decade”, Associated Press, 6/26/25. AP Writer Matt Sedensky in contributed to this report. https://www.cleveland.com/news/2025/06/i-never-imagined-it-would-be-this-difficult-college-graduates-face-toughest-job-market-in-more-than-a-decade.html.

Recent college graduates in their 20s are facing one of the most difficult labor markets in years. While completing a master’s degree in data analysis, Palwasha Zahid moved from Dallas to a town near Silicon Valley. The location made it easy to visit the campuses of tech stalwarts such as Google, Apple, and Nvidia. Zahid, 25, completed her studies in December, but so far she hasn’t found a job in the industry that surrounds her. “It stings a little bit,” she said. “I never imagined it would be this difficult just to get a foot in the door.”

“Young people are bearing the brunt of a lot of economic uncertainty,” Brad Hersbein, senior economist at the Upjohn Institute, a labor-focused think tank, said. “The people that you often are most hesitant in hiring when economic conditions are uncertain are entry-level positions.” …. Young people graduating from college this spring and summer are facing one of the toughest job markets in more than a decade. The unemployment rate for degree holders ages 22 to 27 has reached its highest level in a dozen years, excluding the coronavirus pandemic. Joblessness among that group is now higher than the overall unemployment rate, and the gap is larger than it has been in more than three decades. …. Higher unemployment for younger graduates has also renewed concerns about the value of a college degree. More workers than ever have a four-year degree, which makes it less of a distinguishing factor in job applications.

The growth of artificial intelligence may be playing an additional role by eating away at positions for beginners in white-collar professions such as information technology, finance, and law. …. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said AI would likely reduce the company’s corporate work force over the next few years. “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” Jassy said in a message to employees. “We expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company.” Zahid worries that AI is hurting her chances. She remembers seeing big billboard ads for AI at the San Francisco airport that asked, “Why hire a human when you could use AI?”

“New Google AI makes robots smarter without the cloud: Gemini Robotics On-Device brings advanced AI to real-world robots with no internet required”, Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, Fox News, 7/2/25. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/new-google-ai-makes-robots-smarter-without-cloud.

Google DeepMind has introduced a powerful on-device version of its Gemini Robotics AI. This new system allows robots to complete complex tasks without relying on a cloud connection. Known as Gemini Robotics On-Device, the model brings Gemini's advanced reasoning and control capabilities directly into physical robots. It is designed for fast, reliable performance in places with poor or no internet connectivity, making it ideal for real-world, latency-sensitive environments.

Smarter robots that can work anywhere

Unlike its cloud-connected predecessor, this version runs entirely on the robot itself. It can understand natural language, perform fine motor tasks and generalize from very little data, all without requiring an internet connection. According to Carolina Parada, head of robotics at Google DeepMind, the system is "small and efficient enough" to operate directly onboard. Developers can use the model in situations where connectivity is limited, without sacrificing intelligence or flexibility.

Easy to adapt and train

Gemini Robotics On-Device can be customized with just 50 to 100 demonstrations. The model was first trained using Google's ALOHA robot, but it has already been adapted to other platforms like Apptronik's Apollo humanoid and the Franka FR3. For the first time, developers can fine-tune a DeepMind robotics model. …. Since the artificial intelligence runs directly on the robot, all data stays local. This approach offers better privacy for sensitive applications, such as in healthcare. It also allows robots to continue operating during internet outages or in isolated environments. Google sees this version as a strong fit for remote, security-sensitive, or infrastructure-poor settings.

“Nvidia CEO: Humanoid robot revolution is closer than you think”, Stephen Nellis, 3/19/25. https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2025/03/19/nvidia-ceo-humanoid-robot-revolution-is-closer-than-you-think.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes humanoid robots are less than five years away from seeing wide use in manufacturing facilities. …. Huang unveiled software tools that he said would help humanoid robots navigate the world more easily. … Huang was asked what signs would show that AI had become ubiquitous. Among other answers, Huang said it may be "when, literally, humanoid robots are wandering around, which is not five years away. This is not five-years-away problem, this is a few-years-away problem.” The manufacturing industry would likely adopt humanoid robots first because that industry has well-defined tasks that robots can handle in a controlled environment, he said. "I think it ought to go to factories first. And the reason for that is because the domain is much more guard-railed, and the use case is much more specific," Huang said.

An “AI/Robotic Apocalypse?”

My vision of what lies ahead is bleak, even to the point of considering the possibility of an “AI Apocalypse”. At least fifty percent of Americans have little or nothing saved for retirement, and the Social Security Trust Fund is projected to be depleted in another decade. Poor, desperate and uneducated migrants are flooding into Western nations at a time when agricultural, construction, health care and home care jobs are being replaced by robotic workers and AI applications. Megan Henney writes about the economic weakening of the middle class, one where many are “gasping for air”.

“A majority of middle-class Americans are experiencing financial hardship that they expect will continue for the rest of their lives, according to a new poll. Findings published by the National True Cost of Living Coalition show that 65% of Americans whose incomes are 200% above the national poverty line – which is about $62,300 for a family of four, often considered middle class – said they are struggling financially. Respondents include those with high school diplomas and graduate degrees as well as blue-and white-collar workers who live in both rural and urban America. …” “Nearly two-thirds of middle-class Americans say they are struggling financially: 'Gasping for air’”, Megan Henney, 6/7/24. Fox Business.

The rapid disappearance of employment opportunities across a diverse spectrum of economic contexts due to advancements in Artificial Intelligence and robotics generates a process that goes beyond Joseph Schumpeter’s idea of “Creative Destruction” and eventual economic rebirth. In the Schumpeterian dynamic, there are cyclical downturns followed by a return to prosperity. With AI/Robotics, however, while some analysts continue to use historical data to assume a recovery will eventually occur, this is not going to happen in the rapidly developing AI world. This is because AI is not a simplistic “tool” but a transformational “event”.

We are entirely unprepared for the economic and social impacts of the structural and personal changes that are upon us due to the extremely rapid improvements in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics (AI/Robotics) and the stunning divisiveness, discord, privacy intrusion, propaganda and indoctrination impacts made possible by Social Media. My son Daniel and I covered a number of those themes in our 2019 book The Artificial Intelligence Contagion: Can Democracy Withstand the Imminent Transformation of Work, Wealth and Society? (Clarity Publishing).

In this analysis, and in the three or four that will follow, I am focusing primarily on the astonishing state of AI and Robot evolution and its impacts on economic systems and the ability to have an economy that creates opportunities, skills, and healthy relationships for all rather than a thin upper tier of powerful elites. If our economy is not robust and sustained, opportunities for humans will decrease dramatically. As this occurs, social mobility and overall quality of life will be reduced for tens of millions of people, and we will have limited ability to assist those unfortunate victims.

Now Although it is difficult to predict the future with high levels of certainty given the great number of variables, the McKinsey Global Institute and Oxford University researchers have predicted massive job loss will occur with 47% to 50% of US jobs eliminated or significantly affected by 2030, and up to 800 million more jobs destroyed worldwide. The International Monetary Fund has projected a 60% job loss. Ben Goertzel, a US-Brazilian tech leader and the founder and chief executive of SingularityNET, foresees AI taking over 80% of jobs.

Numerous others who have been intimately involved with AI development such as Bill Gates, Geoffrey Hinton, Tim Berners-Lee, Stephen Hawking, Max Tegmark, Elon Musk and other innovators bring to mind Robert Oppenheimer’s classic statement in witnessing the detonation of the first atomic bomb—“I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” The reality is that we are caught between the brilliance of the best human minds and the inexorable adoption of what those minds create by those focused on power, greed, and control.

As to economics, work and the availability of the kinds of opportunities the contribute to our specie’s further evolution, no current area of work will be safe and there is no reason to delude ourselves by thinking that we are dealing with what, although complex, is only one more “tool” over which we have control.

Work opportunities from the most "intellectual" activities to the basic areas of services and labor are being eliminated. This includes a wide range of professional occupations thought of as distinctly “human”—middle management, finance, banking, insurance, medicine, high-tech, transportation, law, even the arts and much more. We have already seen a shift away from agriculture and manufacturing jobs previously filled by human workers. As more jobs become automated, many repetitive and low-skilled jobs will vanish, or shrink into specialized niches with limited work opportunities.

We already have agricultural tractor systems, grape pickers, a totally robotized Nissan production plant, “fast food cooks”, servers, bar tenders, health care providers, hotel staff, CPA’s, teachers, and far more that replace human workers, or dramatically reduce the need for human workers. As I set out below through a litany of technological developments in AI/Robotics, the range of what is taking place is amazing and we are still early in the process.

The problem isn’t solely AI/Robotics impact on human work and the effects of that profound and sweeping technologically-driven transformation. Part of the growing stress is due to the use of the Internet as an instrumentality of hate, suppression, networking between interest groups whose “voice” has been magnified beyond reason and who are using social media for some good purposes but a whole lot of bad stuff.

Add to this the weakening and betrayal of the functions of education and journalism—as well as governmental abuse, dishonesty, and use of powers that America conferred on its fundamental institutions. When inflation, overwhelming debt of all kinds, and addictions are included in the mix it is quite clear the nation is in trouble, as are many others.

The above listing of potentially horrible threats does not even mention Climate Change, World War III or Nuclear War, the incredible and continuing levels of migration as “Things Fall Apart”. Nor does it mention what Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff has described as the “Infinite-Horizon Fiscal Gap” . That “Gap” represents America’s monetary bankruptcy, not only to the $36 Trillion national debt that is still escalating, but the far larger indebtedness involving the legal obligations the nation has assumed and will need for its people projected into the future. We are in trouble, and we really need to “get our act together”.

Ten years ago, Kotlikoff testified to Congress that he calculated the “Fiscal Gap” to be $210 Trillion. With an admitted $36 Trillion US National Debt at the end of calendar year 2024, one growing by several trillion dollars each year, the reality is that America—and most other nations that depend on America to continue its role as the world’s dynamic engine of productivity—is in a deep hole. If over the next several years we are going to dig a deeper hole it had better not be for the purpose of taking steps that simply make what is happening worse without any strategy for productive change.

Schumpeter and Kondratiev

What is occurring with AI/Robotics is not only unique. It is outside Austrian economist and Harvard University professor Joseph Schumpeter’s process of “Creative Destruction”. Creative Destruction is intended to describe a cycle of innovation that Schumpeter once stated he wished he had called “transformation” rather than “destruction”. In the classic Schumpeterian model, pre-existing economic forms are replaced in large part by new technologies, and while they caused significant turmoil, after a difficult period better forms of work and economic productivity eventually become the new norm of work and production—at least for some people. See, Joseph Schumpeter, Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy.

Schumpeter’s cycle of economic transformation and re-creation is never neat nor painless for those who lose out as their world disintegrates. There is significant turmoil and displacement for many people as the world of work shifts on its axis. Those displaced by the transformation suffer, but in a macro-economic sense the overall community ends up benefiting as new types of jobs are created in large numbers.

Nikolai Kondratiev anticipated Schumpeter when he produced an analysis for Joseph Stalin who had directed him to prove the inevitable collapse of Capitalism and the superiority of Marxism. Unfortunately for Kondratiev he ended up describing the fact that his data showed that Capitalist economies underwent periodic large-scale technological declines and resurgences on a roughly fifty-year basis. Joseph Schumpeter later named these cycles “Kondratiev Waves” in honor of Kondratiev’s analysis.

The problem was that rather than a permanent collapse, Kondratiev’s analysis concluded there is an eventual productive rebirth mechanism within Capitalism represented by new and improved forms of production and work stimulated by the innovative dynamics created amidst the bottom part of the Long Wave cycle. Kondratiev’s findings and influence as a highly regarded agricultural economist caused him to be arrested and imprisoned in 1930 under what are considered false charges by the Soviet government of being part of a non-existent political group. After years in prison he was executed in 1938 in Stalin’s Great Purge.

In past transformations, this process of “creative destruction” has balanced out over time so that labor and skills were able to move generally from obsolete activities to new positions that added value to the recreated economy. While prior industrial revolutions displaced workers, the pace of change was very different from the extremely rapid transformation we are now experiencing with AI/ Robotics. Many blacksmiths could transfer their skills to the machinist and fabricator trades, and wagon makers could at least in some cases transform their production facilities from producing wagons to producing cars.

The speed and nature of the AI/Robotics Transformation is occurring on an entirely different level and character. We are creating AI systems and robotics capabilities that, as Elon Musk predicts, could effectively replace all human jobs at greater levels of efficiency and productivity.

The strategic agenda must focus on nurturing a dynamic and just society that fulfills the promise of America’s values. The system must create and stimulate real jobs for millions of citizens because the principles, focus and discipline that work helps generate and sustain are vital not only for the economic health of this nation but for our humanistic and behavioral well-being. A healthy community requires contributors, not freeloaders.

Ironically, while I and others warn about the dangerous destruction of jobs by AI/Robotics implementation, another very serious problem is the accelerating erosion of the principles represented in what is referred to as the “Work Ethic”. This deterioration of values, and the refusal to accept the obligation to contribute as well as receive benefits shreds America’s “Social Fabric”. While many jobs are being lost, many millions still exist that are left vacant and unfilled because they cannot find people willing to work or with the capabilities and essential discipline needed to be a positive contributor.

Almost ten years ago, Brian Hopkins of the market research company Forrester warned that:

“Solutions powered by AI/cognitive technology will displace jobs, with the biggest impact felt in transportation, logistics, customer service and consumer services.” The Forrester analysis adds: “These robots, or intelligent agents, represent a set of AI-powered systems that can understand human behavior and make decisions on our behalf. … For now, they are quite simple, but over the next five years they will become much better at making decisions on our behalf in more complex scenarios.”

This is all now playing out in the context of a set of critical issues. One of the critical challenges is that birth rates are plummeting below replacement levels in virtually all economically developed nations. People are living well beyond historical averages. Pope Francis has called what is occurring as the “Age Curse” for European societies. Pope Leo recently offered a similar warning. This phenomenon of significant declines in birth rates coupled with a longer living population that requires heightened care is taking place in Japan, China, Russia, Western Europe, and in America. Pope Leo also warned that Artificial Intelligence could undermine the foundational institutions of society.

Many middle class and technical jobs are disappearing. The job cuts represent only some of the companies and industries that are eliminating employees and functions. But they reveal that jobs that are critical to a nation’s maintenance of a strong middle class, one essential to the health and dynamism of a democratic society, are going away. The core challenge is that while jobs will still exist it is likely to be only in a “human ratio” of eight or nine jobs eliminated while one or two are retained, at least for a while—all options made possible by AI/Robotics. The reality is that the capabilities and productivity enhancements achieved by AI/Robotics systems as productivity enhancers and efficiency multipliers reduce the numbers of human workers needed to do “the job”. Fewer humans are needed.

Those productivity enhancement and efficiency multiplier effects mean that we should not expect a blossoming of human jobs in the manufacturing sector that is being touted even if “cutting edge” manufacturing returns to the US. As new facilities are built and existing plants redesigned for new manufacturing function they will incorporate AI/Robotics and while some humans will be incorporated into the processes it will produce a more limited number of jobs for human workers.

See, for example, Kurt Knutsson’s report on a humanoid-scale robotic system.

“Humanoid robot gets to work in BMW assembly plant: Figure's AI-powered machine takes on manufacturing tasks, signaling new era in automotive production”, Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, 7/29/24. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/humanoid-robot-gets-work-bmw-assembly-plant.

Layoffs in the tech sector have occurred at a high rate in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Data from Layoffs.fyi suggests that over 155,000 tech industry workers at more than 500 companies lost their jobs in 2023 and, as the sampling set out below indicates, the elimination of jobs has not slowed in 2024. It is not only the job loss in terms of how data are reported. Too often a political spin infects what is indicated that serves the interests of those in power who are “hiding the ball” in terms of the reality of the impact on human work.

There has already been a dramatic reduction in full-time employment, and a corresponding increase in part time and temporary jobs with many people taking on multiple jobs just to make ends meet in an inflationary economy. In any event, think about the fact that, if cutting edge industries are slashing work opportunities where do the newly eliminated workers with specific types of skills go to find new work when their base industry is flooded with massive job cuts? This does not even take into account the fact that an estimated 7,000,000 young American males have dropped out of the workforce and are reportedly not looking for work.

Cutting edge companies are shifting to AI systems. A partial sample of the companies cutting jobs includes the following. Stellantis, Honda, Ford, Tesla, Valeo, Bosch, BMW, General Motors, Rolls Royce, Alitalia, Southwest, American, Northrop-Grumman, Natwest, Citi Group, Lloyd’s, Vodafone, Deutsche Bank, Farmers, Metro Bank, Credit Suisse, Deloitte, Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Telstra, Intel, Cisco Systems, Bell, Google, Xerox, Pico Interactive, Charles Schwab, Nokia, T-Mobile, AT&T, Telus, Goodyear, Maersk, UPS, Fed Ex, CVS, eBay, Expedia.

The cuts deplete middle class families. A continuing thread in ongoing AI research and development activity is that job displacement is no longer limited to “blue collar” or manual work. The eliminated workers are in management, research, information, financial advising, technical development and design that would seem to be ones that would thrive in a system based on AI and high tech robotic manufacturing applications. Yet they are being slashed for the simple reason that the capabilities of AI systems are developing rapidly in areas that displace human workers.

Superior data management and intelligence growth by AI systems. Finance and brokerage systems have begun to provide investors with AI/robotic financial advisers. Banks are slashing clerical and mid-range staff by the tens of thousands. Human financial advisors are also being terminated in significant numbers. Banks are closing many of their branches that had been 90,000 less than a decade ago. The branch banks are being under-utilized because a large number of people have shifted to online access and sophisticated ATMs. This process is accelerating due to the cost savings it creates as humans are replaced, with the result that thousands upon thousands of jobs are being lost with many more to come.

We face an abyss of looming job destruction. While budgetary discipline is still required lest the entire system collapse upon itself through hyperinflation and deep depression, we must try to “grow” ourselves out of the hole we have created by irresponsible fiscal policies. The US and the nations of Western Europe need to create and implement powerful strategies that save existing jobs. Those nations need to “grow” economies predicated on human labor. The out-of-control shift to AI/robotics we are now experiencing in employment at all levels is a socially destructive course of action. We must slow down the transition to AI/Robotics and human job elimination, doing what Alissa Quart has termed “slow teching” the shift.

The problem isn’t solely AI/Robotics impact on human work and the effects of that profound and sweeping technologically-driven transformation. Part of the growing stress is due to the use of the Internet as an instrumentality of hate, suppression, networking between interest groups whose “voice” has been magnified beyond reason and who are using social media for a whole lot of bad stuff. Add to this the weakening and betrayal of the functions of education and journalism—as well as governmental abuse, dishonesty, and the misuse of powers that America conferred on its fundamental institutions. When inflation, overwhelming debt of all kinds, and addictions are included in the mix it is quite clear the nation is in trouble.

The above listing does not even mention Climate Change, World War III or Nuclear War, or the incredible and continuing levels of ongoing massive migration. Nor does it mention what Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff has described as the “Infinite-Horizon Fiscal Gap” that represents America’s monetary bankruptcy not only to the $36 Trillion national debt that is still escalating at a rapid pace, as well as the far larger indebtedness involving the legal obligations the nation has assumed for its people projected into the future. We are in trouble, and we really need to “get our act together”. A decade ago, Kotlikoff testified to Congress that he calculated the “Fiscal Gap” to be $210 Trillion. The “gap” has widened considerably since then.

A Frightening Sample of What Is Taking Place

“Amazon will soon employ more robots than humans as 1 million machines toil across facilities: report”, Taylor Herzlich, 7/2/25. https://nypost.com/2025/07/02/business/amazon-will-soon-employ-more-robots-than-humans-report/.

Amazon will soon use more robots in its warehouses than human employees — with more than 1 million machines already deployed across facilities, according to a report. Many of these robots cover the heavy lifting involved in warehouse work, picking items down from tall shelves and moving goods around facilities. Others are advanced enough to help humans sort and package orders, according to the Wall Street Journal. Three-quarters of Amazon’s global deliveries are now assisted in some way by robots, according to the company. “They’re one step closer to that realization of the full integration of robotics,” Rueben Scriven, research manager at robotics consulting firm Interact Analysis, told the Journal.

“Microsoft to Cut 9,000 Jobs as Part of Major Workforce Reduction: The software giant said the cuts, affecting all job levels and regions, are part of efforts to streamline and reduce management layers.” Austin Alonzo, 7/2/25. https://www.theepochtimes.com/business/microsoft-to-cut-9000-jobs-as-part-of-major-workforce-reduction-5881492?ea_src=frontpage&ea_cnt=a&ea_med=section-1.

Microsoft Corp. will lay off as many as 9,000 employees, according to multiple media reports on July 2. A Microsoft spokesman told The Epoch Times, that the technology company’s latest round of cuts will reduce its total workforce by less than 4 percent. These cuts will touch all job roles, locations and seniority levels as the company looks to streamline its business and reduce its layers of management.

“We continue to implement organizational changes necessary to best position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace,” the spokesperson said. …. The latest layoffs follow previous rounds of layoffs this year, including more than 6,000 job cuts in May and June combined, as well as a smaller reduction in January focused on performance-related separations. … The latest wave of job cuts is expected to impact several departments, including sales and the Xbox division. Previous layoffs in May primarily affected product and engineering teams. The company employs around 45,000 people in sales and marketing roles, according to data from June 2024.

“Nvidia announces AI-powered health care 'agents' that outperform nurses — and cost $9 an hour: Hippocratic AI and Nvidia teamed up to develop an 'empathetic' health care bot that handles patient calls”, Breck Dumas, 3/21/24. https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/nvidia-announces-ai-powered-health-care-agents-outperform-nurses-cost-9-hour.

Nvidia has teamed up with artificial intelligence health care company Hippocratic AI to develop generative AI "agents" that not only outperform human nurses on video calls but cost a lot less per hour. The two companies on Thursday announced their collaboration to build "empathetic health care agents" powered by Nvidia and trained on Hippocratic's health care-focused large language model (LLM) that are better able to form a human connection with patients through "super-low latency conversational reactions." … Hippocratic’s agents have already been tested by more than 1,000 registered nurses and 100 licensed physicians in the U.S., and dozens of health care providers are trying out the bots internally for non-diagnostic tasks. The company's data shows its bots outperform not only rivals such as OpenAI's GPT-4 and the LLaMA 2 70B Chat, but beat human nurses in every category tested.

“Robotic and drone tech make fruit picking and handling easier: How drones and robotics are changing farming and what it means for workers”, Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, 4/23/25. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/robotic-drone-tech-make-fruit-picking-handling-easier.

Robotic and drone tech make fruit picking and handling easier … Farming is undergoing a remarkable transformation thanks to cutting-edge technologies reshaping how fruit is picked and handled. While autonomous drones like Tevel’s Flying Robots are already harvesting fruit globally, innovations like UC San Diego’s GRIP-tape gripper represent the next frontier in gentle produce handling. Together, these advancements promise to make fruit production more efficient and precise, though one is a proven solution and the other is a glimpse into farming’s future. Tevel’s Flying Autonomous Robots (FARs) are redefining fruit harvesting by combining artificial intelligence with advanced computer vision. …. Unlike human pickers, these drones can operate continuously, working day and night to get the job done faster and more consistently. …. FARs have already been deployed in orchards across the United States, Italy, Chile and Israel, where they have helped reduce labor costs by up to 30% while improving harvest accuracy.

“World’s first AI-powered industrial super-humanoid robot: Meet the future of factory work”, Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, 4/6/25. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/worlds-first-ai-powered-industrial-super-humanoid-robot.

In a groundbreaking development, California-based robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) company Dexterity has unveiled Mech, the world's first industrial super-humanoid robot. This innovative creation figures to revolutionize enterprise operations, particularly in the logistics and manufacturing sectors. …. What sets Mech apart is its advanced AI system, which Dexterity calls "Physical AI." This sophisticated technology enables Mech to perform complex tasks with human-like adaptability and superhuman strength. The robot's onboard supercomputer runs hundreds of AI models, allowing it to excel in scenarios that require precise coordination. … Mech can perform a wide range of tasks, including truck loading, palletizing, depalletizing and order picking. …. As this technology continues to evolve, it will be fascinating to watch how it reshapes the landscape of manufacturing and logistics in the years to come.

https://nypost.com/2024/10/30/tech/boston-dynamics-releases-new-video-of-all-electric-atlas-humanoid-robot/. “Boston Dynamics releases video of Atlas robot that now needs zero help from humans to perform tasks”, Shane Galvin, Oct. 30, 2024.

Robotics company Boston Dynamics has released a new video of its humanoid robot Atlas – now performing tasks with zero human intervention. … “There are no prescribed or teleoperated movements; all motions are generated autonomously online. … Atlas is meant for commercial use and is designed to tackle “real-world applications”, according to Boston Dynamics.”

“The AI-powered robot army that packs your groceries in minutes: The future of fast, efficient and contactless grocery fulfillment”, Kurt Knutssen, April 20, 2025. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/ai-powered-robot-army-packs-your-groceries-minutes.

“Imagine a grocery store where your entire order is picked, packed and ready for delivery in just five minutes without a single human hand touching your food. This is exactly what’s happening inside Ocado’s revolutionary Hive, a fully automated warehouse system that’s changing the way we shop for groceries. At the core of Ocado’s Customer Fulfilment Centres, or CFCs, is The Hive, a massive 3D grid filled with thousands of grocery products. Picture fleets of robots or "bots" zipping around at speeds up to about 9 miles per hour, all coordinated by an AI-powered "air traffic control" system that talks to each bot ten times every second. These bots work together to pick and transport items, which are then packed by robotic arms with incredible precision and speed.”

A very small sampling. One-Year loss of 294,123 tech jobs for the last half of 2023 and first half of 2024.

87,550: Motor Vehicles, Transport, and Supplies

6,656: Air Transport

32,700: Technology & Transport

46,416: Finance & Banking

120,801: Computer, AI, Information and Communications

“What if They Built Houses Like Cars?”, https://outlook.office.com/mail/inbox/id/.

BOXABL is the tech construction company bringing assembly line automation to the housing industry. With their patented technology and 53 patent filings, BOXABL believes they have the potential to disrupt a massive and outdated trillion dollar building construction market. And they just reserved the ticker symbol BXBL on Nasdaq!

Most houses take seven months to complete. BOXABL can put one out of the assembly line every four hours, including electrical, HVAC, and plumbing! Now, the company is raising funds and has made shares available to the public…

“The AI-powered robot army that packs your groceries in minutes: The future of fast, efficient and contactless grocery fulfillment”, 4/20/25. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/ai-powered-robot-army-packs-your-groceries-minutes.

Imagine a grocery store where your entire order is picked, packed and ready for delivery in just five minutes without a single human hand touching your food. This is exactly what’s happening inside Ocado’s revolutionary Hive, a fully automated warehouse system that’s changing the way we shop for groceries. What is the Hive? At the core of Ocado’s Customer Fulfilment Centres, or CFCs, is The Hive, a massive 3D grid filled with thousands of grocery products. Picture fleets of robots or "bots" zipping around at speeds up to about 9 miles per hour, all coordinated by an AI-powered "air traffic control" system that talks to each bot ten times every second. These bots work together to pick and transport items, which are then packed by robotic arms with incredible precision and speed.

“Smarter dairy farms where robots milk the cows: Ditching tradition for high-tech dairy farms”, Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, 4/15/25. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/smarter-dairy-farms-where-robots-milk-cows.

Picture this: A dairy barn full of cows being milked, fed and cleaned up after, but there’s no farmer in sight. Sounds a bit unusual, right? Well, it’s not as far-fetched as you might think. Thanks to cutting-edge agricultural robotics, this kind of scene is becoming more common. At this farm, a team of autonomous robots is taking care of all the essential chores, completely changing the way dairy farming works. These robots aren’t just doing the heavy lifting; they’re creating a stress-free, comfortable environment for the cows while keeping things efficient and sustainable.

Lely is working to integrate its robots seamlessly into the daily lives of dairy farmers, who are increasingly becoming robot managers. This requires farmers to manage the robots and learn how to interpret the data they generate. The additional time and flexibility afforded by robots have allowed some dairy farmers to diversify their operations. One Lely customer, for example, has added a restaurant and farm shop to his dairy, allowing patrons to observe the robots at work while enjoying cheese made from the cows they care for.

“Goldman Sachs announces firmwide launch of AI assistant: Tool offers specialized capabilities for different departments including investment banking and wealth management”, Eric Revell, 6/23/25. https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/goldman-sachs-announces-firmwide-launch-ai-assistant.

Goldman Sachs announced that it is rolling out a generative artificial intelligence (AI) assistant across the firm in its latest move to incorporate the technology into employees' workflows. Goldman announced that its in-house AI application, known as the GS AI Assistant, is available to employees throughout the company, offering tools tailored to meet the needs of workers in various specialties across the firm. The natural language assistant can securely tap into a variety of large language models (LLMs) that the company has approved. "Today marks an important moment in our AI journey as we are excited to announce the firmwide launch of the GS AI Assistant – the first generative AI-powered tool to reach this scale," Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti said in a memo seen by FOX Business. …. ”Thousands of our people are already using the GS AI Assistant, and I hope all of you will start exploring how the tool can positively impact your daily tasks and boost productivity, from summarizing complex documents and drafting initial content to performing data analysis," Argenti added.

“Humanoid robots handle quality checks and assembly at auto plant: Kepler's K2 humanoid robot steps into the spotlight at SAIC-GM”, Kurt Knutsson 6/24/25. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/humanoid-robots-handle-quality-checks-assembly-auto-plant.

Kepler Robotics has officially introduced its Forerunner K2 "Bumblebee" humanoid robot at the SAIC-GM automotive plant in Shanghai, marking a significant moment in the real-world deployment of advanced robotics. In a recently released video, the K2 is seen moving confidently through the plant, performing detailed quality checks, and handling assembly operations that demand both strength and precision. The K2 "Bumblebee" robot is built for the demands of modern factories. At SAIC-GM, it has already demonstrated its ability to perform intricate inspections, navigate complex factory layouts, and manage heavy automotive components with impressive autonomy. The robot can load stamped parts, manipulate mechanical fixtures, and adapt to new tasks using a combination of imitation and reinforcement learning.

“Risk Or Revolution: Will AI Replace Lawyers?”, Hessie Jones, (Hessie Jones is a strategist, entrepreneur and investor covering AI), 3/20/25. https://www.forbes.com/sites/hessiejones/2025/03/20/risk-or-revolution-will-ai-replace-lawyers/.

As artificial intelligence reshapes many industries, the legal field faces its own crossroads. Over the past few years, a growing number of legal professionals have embraced AI tools to boost efficiency and reduce costs. According to recent figures, nearly 73% of legal experts now plan to incorporate AI into their daily operations. 65% of law firms agree that "effective use of generative AI will separate the successful and unsuccessful law firms in the next five years.” Investors have shown strong support for AI-powered legal startups, with funding reaching new record highs in 2024 with total capital investment of $477 million. The appeal for VCs is the potential that 44% of legal work could potentially be automated by emerging AI tools.

We face an abyss of looming job destruction we can’t afford to ignore. While budgetary discipline is still required lest the entire system collapse upon itself through hyperinflation and deep depression from which we can’t extract ourselves, we must try to “grow” ourselves out of the hole we have created by irresponsible existing fiscal policies. The US and the nations of Western Europe need to create and implement powerful strategies that save existing jobs. Those nations need to take a deep breath and “grow” economies predicated on human labor. Further increasing the out-of-control shift to AI/robotics we are now experiencing in employment at all levels is a socially destructive course of action. We absolutely must slow down the transition to AI/Robotics and human job elimination in doing what Alissa Quart termed “slow teaching” the shift.