this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2025
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Someone riddle me this: Where are all the jobs at again?
AI isn't taking jobs. That is some weird thing people say but that facts don't back it up. Jobs are up, not down. Most employment in the United States isn't in large companies. It's small business.
When was the last time you called practically any company for any sort of customer service? What's the first thing you hear? AI.
AI has taken over most phone support systems these days, it's almost impossible to speak to a human anymore, because they've downsized the staff and have AI do practically everything.
When was the last time you walked into a Dollar Store? You're lucky if they even have two employees working at any given moment, because yay self checkout, who needs cashiers anymore? And the damn self checkout wants a fucking tip no less!
And now we got driverless cabs out there, because who needs a job as a driver? Just let the computer do it instead!
Hollywood hardly even needs actors or video producers anymore, they can just have AI crank out new movies for us.
I'm sure there's way more examples that can be added to this list, but yeah, AI and modern technology in general are indeed taking over jobs.
Voice systems have been around since the 80’s.
I have never been in a dollar store. I avoid being around low income people. That just sounds miserable.
Yes, voice systems have been around for quite a while. But there was almost always an easy way to bypass all that and talk to a human. It was just as simple as dialing 0, and there wasn't hardly much wait time, they tended to have more actual people operating the phones back then.
And you don't go to the Dollar Store to socialize with people, you go to save money when buying toilet paper and cat food or whatever the hell. But hey, you do you, if you got enough money to piss away just to avoid low income people, then by all means piss away and live in your little bubble. The rest of us tend to look for ways to save money when we can.
You can still bypass. Say speak to agent. I have never had an issue talking to a person. Dollar stores tend to cost more than regular stores.
https://www.businessinsider.com/dollar-general-dollar-tree-pricier-per-ounce-shoppers-still-benefit-2023-8
Hell I would pay double to avoid poor people.
You sound like the sort of person that would tell a poor person to go get a job rather than offer them a job cutting your grass or washing your car or something.
That sort of thing is part of the problem too, many would rather avoid poor people than to offer them an opportunity to earn money.
If you ignore context, 'facts' can tell all kinds of lies.
If AI isn't replacing people, what's the point? Why would a business invest in it?
Jobs are up, but not full-time jobs. Growth in part time jobs and gig work is contributing to most of the job growth, having more people working 2 and 3 jobs is not a sign of economic growth.
And small businesses account for about 46% of us jobs. Not even a majority, certainly not most.
The goal is to replace people, but it isn't even close to replacing people at this time. People think AI is much more powerful than it is and cheaper than it is.
Most of what I sell is AI, and I have yet to see it replace anyone. Typically, their headcount increases significantly after they introduce AI.
ChatGPT, which is considered one of the most advanced systems, just loses track of what it's doing and gives false answers.
Now I don't like their definition of small business but it is what it is
https://www.usatoday.com/money/blueprint/business/business-formation/small-business-statistics/
From your link: Small businesses employ a similar percentage of the United States private sector workforce (46%)
That's exactly what I said.
You're not wrong about the current gen AI, but that hasn't stopped adoption or investment into the tech. Even in current states, there are plenty of reasonable uses where it enables one person to manage a significantly higher workload, which translates to fewer employees needed.
Considering how much the current administration has invested into the technology, I certainly hope it can deliver on a fraction of what's been promised.
In its current state it helps worker be more efficient but it’s often wrong. I’ve yet to see anyone replaced by it or head counts reduced. Right now it’s helping less talented people become more talented. Eventually that may change but for many jobs, laws prevent AI from replacing people. It can assist but cannot replace. My kid does insurance claims. They decided to have AI do some of the works. Turns out by law a person has to do the work. The fines were severe. Also it was wrong most of the time.
One day they’ll get there but it’s not impacting jobs from what I’ve seen and it’s what I sell for a Fortune 500 company. We don’t even hint it would replace people as they just isn’t what it does right now. We say it enhances people.
You get how that works right though? If you employ 10 people for a task at your business, then get a new tool that lets your employees process twice as many clients, you can cut your workforce in half. It's not really about replacing every person with AI, it's just another way to automate and reduce your workforce to concentrate wealth. It's nice that you haven't seen that, but I certainly have. I run a manufacturing business and I've already seen artists replaced and staff slashed at a dozen of my suppliers. Maybe not all because of AI specifically, but it's certainly a significant component.
The fact that your boss tells you to disguise it marketing speak doesn't mean the companies you're pitching this to don't understand what 'enhancing people' means.
Sure make a company that successfully done it. Nobody has pulled that off yet.