Automation could threaten 100 million jobs in the United States

Artificial intelligence and automation are emerging as the biggest employment challenge of the digital age in the United States, with projections predicting the possible elimination of up to 100 million jobs in the next decade. This warning, cited by the New York Post based on a report by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions—chaired by Bernard Sanders—places fast-food workers, teaching assistants, drivers, and nursing staff among the most vulnerable sectors.

The rise of technologies such as ChatGPT and advanced automation systems is accelerating the replacement of human tasks, marking a turning point in the U.S. labor market.

The scope of the employment impact is unprecedented in its magnitude. According to the Senate Committee report, models based on ChatGPT estimate that 97 million jobs could disappear in the next ten years. The New York Post details that nearly 90% of fast-food workers, 65% of teaching assistants, and nearly half of truck drivers and nurses face the risk of having their jobs automated.

The report also quotes Dario Amodei of Anthropic, who warns that artificial intelligence could eliminate half of entry-level office jobs, raising the unemployment rate to 10% to 20% within one to five years. An OpenAI analysis, included in the same report, indicates that 46% of jobs could see more than half of their tasks automated.

The phenomenon does not affect all sectors equally. Fast-food workers top the list, with 89% of their positions at risk, followed by teaching assistants (64-65%), accountants, and truck drivers (47%). The Senate Committee report highlights that companies such as Amazon and Walmart have already eliminated tens of thousands of jobs due to automation.

Amazon, for example, has laid off 27,000 employees since 2022 and plans further workforce reductions thanks to artificial intelligence, while Walmart has eliminated 70,000 positions in five years, increasing its revenue by $150 billion. UnitedHealth Group plans to cut at least 30,000 jobs and expects AI to handle more than half of its calls by 2025. The World Economic Forum, cited in the report, indicates that 40% of companies plan to reduce their workforce due to the adoption of artificial intelligence.

The speed of this technological transformation exceeds that of any previous industrial revolution. Sanders, according to the New York Post, warns that the current pace of change is much faster than in the past, creating uncertainty about the future of work.

The Senate Committee's report includes McKinsey's estimate that artificial intelligence can automate between 60% and 70% of current work time. This rapid technological transition has intensified the debate about job security and the workforce's ability to adapt.

The impact on the middle class and inequality is particularly troubling. The Senate Committee report documents that, since 1973, labor productivity in the United States has increased by 150% and corporate profits by more than 370%, but average real wages have fallen by nearly $30 a week. The richest 1% of the country owns more wealth than the bottom 93%, and over the past 50 years, $79 trillion has been transferred from the bottom 90% to the top 1%.

By 2024, nearly one in four workers earned less than $17 per hour, and the unionization rate stood at 9%, its lowest level since 1909. The federal minimum wage, at $7.25 per hour, is the lowest in real terms since 1956 and has fallen 32% since 2009.

The report attributes the acceleration of automation to the strategy of large corporations and their executives, seeking to reduce labor costs and increase profits. Technology companies such as Salesforce, Mechanize, and Artisan openly promote the replacement of human workers. In the transportation sector, autonomous trucking companies such as Kodiak, Gatik, and Aurora highlight the elimination of labor and training costs as competitive advantages.

The federal government, according to the report, has encouraged automation by eliminating safety regulations, cutting funding to states that regulate artificial intelligence, and expanding automation tax subsidies by $360 billion over ten years. Furthermore, contracts have been signed with companies such as Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI to replace public workers with artificial intelligence.

Against this backdrop, the political debate is intensifying. Sanders and other Democratic lawmakers have proposed measures such as reducing the workweek to 32 hours without pay cuts, implementing a "robot tax," and expanding employee ownership in companies.

The Senate Committee report also suggests sharing at least 20% of corporate shares with employees, allowing 45% of board seats to be elected by workers, and modernizing unemployment insurance to protect those displaced by automation.

As artificial intelligence redefines the world of work, concerns persist that, without decisive intervention, the economic and social gap will widen further, leaving millions of workers increasingly vulnerable.