Tech Won't Save Us Will AI Kill Your Job? w/ Brian Merchant
35 snips
Sep 4, 2025 
Brian Merchant, the author of Blood in the Machine and host of the newsletter AI Killed My Job, joins the discussion to unravel the implications of AI on the labor market. He tackles the idea of an impending AI bubble and how businesses are leveraging AI to threaten jobs. Personal narratives from affected workers illustrate the nuanced challenges of automation beyond mere job loss. Merchant encourages listeners to engage with organizations working to protect workers' rights, highlighting the ongoing struggle between technology and human dignity.
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Scaling Is Reaching Its Limits
- GPT model improvements have become incremental rather than explosive, challenging the AGI narrative.
- Brian Merchant argues scaling alone has hit limits and new methods will be needed for major leaps.
Business Gains From AI Look Limited
- Business adoption looks weak: an MIT study found 95% of firms struggled to gain major benefits from AI.
- Merchant uses that to question the straightforward business case for enterprise AI automation.
AI Has Become Too Big To Fail
- AI is now geopolitically and politically supported, making it hard to let the bubble fully collapse.
- Merchant warns state interests, contracts, and national security uses will prop AI markets.
