Tech Billionaires Seek to Lull Public into AI Complacency, Critics Warn

As Americans grow increasingly concerned that artificial intelligence will eliminate millions of jobs and create a permanent underclass, technology billionaires are working to reassure the public that there is no cause for alarm, with the underlying message that they should not resist AI.

Elon Musk, who recently merged SpaceX with his AI company, has joined the effort, telling people not to worry about AI. Musk wrote last month that “Universal HIGH INCOME via checks issued by the Federal government” would save everyone displaced by AI.

Musk asserts that AI will generate massive productivity gains and economic abundance, eliminating inflation and the need to save for retirement. “Saving for retirement will be irrelevant,” he added.

Joining the reassurance chorus, Sam Altman’s OpenAI issued a report last month stating: “The promise of superintelligence is extraordinary … [AI] will speed up scientific and medical breakthroughs, significantly increase productivity, lower costs for families by making essential goods cheaper, and open the way for entirely new forms of work, creativity, and entrepreneurship.”

Peter Thiel, billionaire co-founder of Palantir, has also sought to downplay AI concerns, saying, “It’s more than a nothing-burger, and it’s less than the total transformation of our society.” He added that without AI development, “the alternative is just total stagnation.”

As Americans across the country fight to block new data centers, Musk and other tech billionaires are attempting to persuade the public not to fear or resist AI. However, given that these billionaires stand to make tens of billions of dollars from AI, their reassurances should be viewed with skepticism.

Concerns are warranted given warnings from AI executives. Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, said AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within one to five years and push the unemployment rate to 20%. Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, warned that most white-collar work “will be fully automated by an AI within the next 12 to 18 months.”

Beyond layoffs, AI deployment across industries will likely be used to control and surveil workers, pressuring them to increase productivity.

A Fox News poll found nearly one-third of Americans fear AI will eliminate their jobs within five years. The Trump administration, however, appears unconcerned. President Donald Trump has enthusiastically embraced AI and moved to expedite data center construction. Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser, has downplayed job losses, claiming AI is not costing anyone their jobs despite rising tech layoffs.

Young people entering the workforce should be particularly concerned and should not find comfort in Musk’s claims of an AI-driven economic nirvana.

Many economists strongly disagree with Musk’s bullish prediction that AI will deliver super productivity gains and an abundance of goods and services.

It would be far wiser to heed warnings from Senator Bernie Sanders than Musk’s super-optimism.

Sanders, the top Democrat on the Senate health, education and labor committee, issued a report stating that AI could replace tens of millions of jobs and that the nation must take major steps to protect against AI’s harms.

“We cannot sit back and allow a handful of billionaire Big Tech oligarchs to make decisions that will reshape our economy, our democracy and the future of humanity,” Sanders said. “The time for action is now.”

In contrast, Musk suggests waiting a few years for AI to bring untold prosperity. The author sides with Sanders, arguing for immediate action to prevent potentially disastrous effects: millions of layoffs, increased economic inequality, and a new underclass. Even Amodei has cautioned that AI may create “an unemployed or very-low-wage ‘underclass’.”

With some experts calling AI the most far-reaching technological development in history, including Bill Gates who said “Of all the things humans have ever created, AI will change society the most,” the need for preparation is urgent. A stronger safety net is needed as AI advances rapidly. Mass layoffs may come faster than expected, though potentially slower and smaller. The approach should be to hope for the best but plan for the worst.

Musk’s proposal for universal high-income checks sounds appealing, but it would require a compassionate president and Congress to enact such legislation. Musk and other tech billionaires helped elect right-wing politicians who have passed legislation making it harder to receive food stamps and Medicaid without a job. Therefore, reliance on Musk and billionaires to secure universal high-income checks is misplaced.

“I am skeptical about [the billionaires’ and big tech companies’] willingness to pay or incur the taxes necessary to sustain such proposals,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has partnered with Sanders to push for AI safeguards.

Several important steps can be taken to protect against AI’s harms.

Universal health insurance should be guaranteed. Because the US ties health insurance to employment, the risk of AI displacement strengthens the case for adopting a system like Medicare for All, ensuring displaced workers do not lose coverage.

Wage insurance, a targeted program providing up to $10,000 annually, could help workers displaced by AI who move to lower-paying jobs. It would offset wage losses and encourage job seeking. The US should also reform its unemployment insurance system, which in Mississippi pays a maximum of $235 per week and in Florida $275.

If AI eliminates millions of jobs, the US should establish a New Deal-style Works Progress Administration to create jobs in infrastructure repair or childcare. Relying solely on the market to absorb displaced workers would be unwise given the scale of potential job loss.

Job training programs should be significantly improved before AI eliminates large numbers of jobs, to prepare workers for future roles in healthcare, construction, green energy and other fields.

Productivity gains from AI should be shared through legislation establishing a 32-hour workweek with 40 hours’ pay, potentially reducing layoffs. Additionally, the US should mandate paid vacations: two weeks for new hires, three weeks after two years, and four weeks after four years. The European Union already guarantees four weeks of paid vacation for all workers.

Universal basic capital, such as shares in a universal investment fund, could allow Americans to share in AI-generated wealth. Distributed to all citizens, workers, or at birth, this would provide corporate voting rights and a public voice in corporate and AI company governance, unlike universal basic income.

In response to public anger over AI data centers, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have called for a nationwide halt on new data center construction until Congress enacts basic AI protections. They hope the moratorium will leverage measures such as banning AI products that threaten privacy and humanity.

AI companies and many billionaires will likely oppose a moratorium and any meaningful AI limits. A powerful people’s movement is needed to fight for strong safeguards to protect workers, the public, and the world from AI’s potential dangers.

Steven Greenhouse is a journalist and author who focuses on labor, workplace, economic, and legal issues.