“Artificial labor could not only put millions of people out of work from their existing job. It could also replace new jobs that could have been created. A factory worker who loses their job cannot be told to learn to code if artificial labor also takes the coding job.”
Fortune reached out to Senator Sanders for further comment.
There’s one area where Sanders and many business leaders surprisingly agree: the future of work could mean fewer hours on the clock.
But the 84-year-old senator warns that even if those predictions are only predictions that are partially true, it could leave millions of Americans with no way to earn a living.
“What happens to the tens of millions of Americans who no longer have employment because they can’t find jobs that don’t exist?” Sanders questioned in his op-ed. “In this brave new world, how do these Americans pay for health care, food, housing and the other necessities of life?”
To ease that transition, Sanders is proposing a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay.
“Today, American workers are over 400% more productive than they were in the 1940s. Yet, millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages than they were decades ago. A 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay would reduce the stress level in our country and allow Americans to enjoy a better quality of life,” the report said.
But despite his concerns, Sanders acknowledged AI will also likely bring many societal productivity benefits; after all, his own staff used ChatGPT to help compile the list of jobs most at risk of replacement.
“Bottom line: AI and robotics will bring a profound transformation to our country,” Sanders wrote. “These changes must benefit all of us, not just a handful of billionaires.
