According to a report by Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, about 3,900 people lost their jobs in May due to artificial intelligence, marking the first time AI has been listed as a cause in the monthly report. The report found that between January and May, there were about 417,500 lost jobs, making it the worst five-month start to a year since 2020. The spokesperson confirmed that the cuts all came from the tech sector, which is buzzing with the latest developments in AI tech from companies like Google, Adobe, and Amazon. While Challenger expects the trend to continue, some companies could be hesitant to reveal AI as a motivating factor for layoffs. The number of jobs created by AI is unclear, and it’s uncertain how it will compare to the number of jobs that are eliminated because of it. The National Eating Disorder Association confirmed that it was replacing at least six helpline employees with an AI chatbot named Tessa it has been using since last year. However, the organization said Tuesday it was briefly shutting Tessa down amid reports from one user that said Tessa provided advice like weighing yourself weekly and counting calories. In May, BT Group CEO Philip Jansen announced plans to cut about 55,000 jobs by 2030, many of which were previously planned cuts that would come with finishing certain construction projects. However, the company will replace about 10,000 of those projected cuts over the next seven years with AI, as he said the company’s existing chatbot “Amy” can already answer many user questions, and will only improve with time.
