The Moynihan Report AI is NOT replacing your job, it's "degrading" it. here's how | The Moynihan Report
Nov 14, 2025
Meredith Whittaker, President of Signal and former Google employee, dissects the AI landscape and its impact on jobs. She argues that AI often degrades work rather than replacing it, leading to precarious positions. Whittaker warns against the concentration of power within Big Tech and its surveillance practices. The conversation touches on the pitfalls of popular messaging apps, the implications of targeted spyware, and the importance of encryption and governance. She emphasizes that the benefits of technology should be shared, rather than concentrated.
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AI Is A Marketing Term, Not One Tech
- 'AI' is a marketing aspiration, not a single technical term of art.
- The current dominant approach is deep-learning tied to massive compute and data, but alternatives exist.
AI Often Degrades Rather Than Replaces Jobs
- Historical computing advances often aimed to rationalize and control labor rather than simply replace jobs.
- Current AI trends often degrade jobs or shift them into lower-paid, invisible labor rather than eliminate work outright.
AI's Revenue Lives In Contracts And APIs
- The profitable AI market centers on large contracts, licensing and APIs rather than free consumer apps.
- Most AI startups re-skin major models and depend on hyperscaler compute, creating a barnacle economy.