Washington: In a recent report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, it has been revealed that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to impact the job market. In May alone, US-based employers announced a staggering 80,089 job cuts, a significant increase of 287% compared to the same month last year. Surprisingly, for the first time, AI was listed as one of the reasons behind these job losses, alongside factors like market conditions, restructuring, and buyouts.
Among the job cuts, approximately 3,900 individuals lost their jobs due to AI advancements. This marks the first recorded instance of AI directly impacting employment. These AI-related layoffs accounted for about 4.9% of all job cuts in May.
Sadly, this comes at a time when the hiring rate for the year has reached its lowest level since 2016. The report highlights that between January and May of this year, a staggering 417,500 jobs were lost, making it the worst start to a year since the mass layoffs triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The release of this report follows a recent warning from scientists and leaders in the technology industry, who expressed concerns about the potential risks of artificial intelligence. They even suggested that it could pose a threat to human existence.
