News/Economy
Ouch! Microsoft exec tells laid-off workers to use ChatGPT for therapy
A Microsoft executive suggested that the 9,000 workers recently laid off by the company should use AI chatbots like ChatGPT to cope with job loss, sparking widespread backlash for the tone-deaf advice. The recommendation comes as Microsoft invests $80 billion in AI while simultaneously cutting thousands of jobs, highlighting the disconnect between corporate priorities and employee welfare. What happened: Matt Turnbull, an Xbox executive producer at Microsoft-owned Xbox, posted advice on LinkedIn encouraging laid-off Microsoft workers to use AI tools for emotional support and career guidance. Turnbull suggested using "large language model AI tools (like ChatGPT or Copilot) to help...
read Jul 7, 2025Tech investments surge to $200B in Q2 2025 as AI drives recovery
Tech investments surged to $200 billion in Q2 2025, representing 40% of all global venture funding, M&A, and IPO activity according to PitchBook, a market research firm. This substantial capital influx signals a steady recovery from a two-year downturn caused by high borrowing costs, macroeconomic uncertainty, and the correction from inflated COVID-era valuations. What you should know: The second quarter built on first quarter gains, with AI and supporting infrastructure driving renewed dealmaking despite ongoing investor concerns about inflation and geopolitical risks. Key details: Major transactions dominated the quarter's investment landscape, showcasing the scale of capital deployment across fintech, AI,...
read Jul 3, 2025Microsoft cuts 15K jobs while investing $80B in AI infrastructure
Microsoft has eliminated approximately 15,300 employees—7% of its global workforce—in the first half of 2025 while simultaneously investing $80 billion in AI infrastructure. The dramatic workforce reduction coincides with CEO Satya Nadella's revelation that up to 30% of Microsoft's code is now written by AI, signaling a fundamental shift toward replacing human labor with artificial intelligence across the tech industry. The numbers tell the story: Microsoft's 2025 layoffs have been systematic and extensive, with software engineering bearing the brunt of cuts. The company announced 9,000 layoffs on July 2, following 6,000 cuts in May, 300+ cuts in June, and smaller...
read Jul 2, 2025Microsoft cuts 9,000 jobs while AI investments fuel $3.7T valuation
Microsoft is laying off approximately 9,000 employees, representing about 4% of its workforce, following a previous round of 6,000 job cuts in May. The reductions signal a tightening job market across major tech companies and suggest that Microsoft's own AI development may be contributing to workforce displacement, even as the company continues generating multibillion-dollar quarterly profits. What you should know: The layoffs span multiple geographies and divisions, including sales teams and Microsoft's video game business. Microsoft employed 228,000 people as of June 2024, making this the second major round of cuts in recent months. The company's market valuation has reached...
read Jul 1, 2025Does AI transform job interviews with fairer, more predictive hiring tools?
Artificial intelligence is quietly transforming one of business's most critical processes: job interviews. While companies have long struggled with inconsistent hiring decisions, unconscious bias, and poor candidate experiences, AI-powered interview tools now offer a path toward more objective, predictive, and fair recruitment processes. The stakes are significant. Poor hiring decisions cost companies an average of $240,000 per executive-level mistake, while biased interview processes expose organizations to legal risks and damage employer branding. Traditional interviews, research shows, have roughly the same predictive power as flipping a coin when it comes to identifying top performers. However, emerging AI interview platforms are changing...
read Jul 1, 2025US colleges launch AI programs as job demand soars 323%
Colleges across the United States are rapidly integrating artificial intelligence training into their curricula as employers increasingly demand AI skills for positions outside the technology sector. This shift reflects a broader transformation in the job market, where AI literacy is becoming essential for roles in healthcare, hospitality, media, and other industries, prompting educational institutions to adapt their programs to meet evolving workforce demands. What you should know: The demand for AI skills in job postings has surged dramatically, with non-tech employers leading the charge. Online job postings mentioning generative AI as a desired skill grew 323% last year, reaching over...
read Jul 1, 2025Senate bill cuts renewable energy tax credits as AI drives power demand
The US Senate passed a budget bill that would eliminate tax credits for wind and solar projects after 2027, potentially jeopardizing hundreds of planned renewable energy projects nationwide. This aggressive rollback comes as artificial intelligence and data centers are driving unprecedented electricity demand, making the timing particularly problematic for grid stability and energy security. What you should know: The Senate bill forces an end to wind and solar tax credits for projects placed in service after 2027, creating immediate uncertainty for the clean energy pipeline. According to energy NGO E2, around $15.5 billion in clean energy investment has already been...
read Jul 1, 2025Can’t keep up? AI will eliminate jobs faster than workers can adapt, Amazon CEO warns
The Silicon Valley mantra echoes from every conference stage: "You won't lose your job to AI, but to someone who learns to use AI." While this reassuring narrative helps executives sleep soundly as HR departments scramble to deploy AI literacy programs, it fundamentally misses the seismic shift occurring across industries today. The real disruption isn't about individual workers becoming AI-proficient. Instead, entire job categories face obsolescence as artificial intelligence demonstrates exponentially improving capabilities in core business functions that once required human expertise. The exponential reality Today represents the least capable AI will ever be. Current models from major providers have...
read Jun 27, 2025PwC study finds AI driving shift from degrees to trade schools
A PwC report reveals declining demand for university degrees in AI-automatable roles like software engineering and customer service, potentially reshaping higher education. According to Andrew Reece, chief AI scientist at BetterUp, a career coaching platform, this trend could lead to lower college enrollments and the emergence of specialized AI trade schools that teach students how to leverage artificial intelligence in their chosen careers. What you should know: Traditional degree programs are losing relevance as AI transforms workforce requirements and makes certain university-acquired skills obsolete. Students are questioning the value of college as AI changes job market dynamics and makes academic...
read Jun 26, 2025CareerBuilder and Monster lose their jobs to AI
CareerBuilder and Monster's joint venture has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware, citing artificial intelligence-driven hiring competition and a corporate hiring slowdown as key factors behind their failed merger. The Apollo Global Management-backed company reported just $2.2 million in cash and secured a $20 million emergency loan to fund asset sales over the coming weeks. What you should know: The bankruptcy represents a significant collapse in the traditional job recruitment industry, highlighting how AI tools have disrupted established players. CareerBuilder and Monster, once dominant forces in online job recruiting, couldn't compete against newer AI-powered hiring platforms that offer more...
read Jun 26, 2025AI maturity scores drop 9 points despite record investment
A surprising paradox has emerged in the enterprise AI landscape: despite unprecedented investment and attention, companies are actually becoming less mature in their AI implementation. ServiceNow, a cloud computing company, and Oxford Economics recently released their 2025 Enterprise AI Maturity Index study revealing that average AI maturity scores dropped nine points on a 100-point scale compared to the previous year. This counterintuitive finding reflects a broader reality about the breakneck pace of AI development. The technology is evolving faster than most organizations can adapt, creating a gap between ambition and execution that's leaving many businesses feeling less confident about their...
read Jun 25, 2025More boom loop than doom loop? AI drives San Francisco luxury home sales to record highs
San Francisco's luxury housing market has surged to record highs in 2024, with more homes selling above $20 million than in any previous year in the city's history. This renaissance is being driven by AI entrepreneurs and tech investors who are flocking to the Bay Area to access specialized talent and capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. The big picture: San Francisco has rapidly transformed from a city declared "dead" or stuck in a "doom loop" to a magnetic destination for AI wealth, according to Sotheby's International Realty, a luxury real estate firm. Why this matters: The AI gold rush...
read Jun 25, 2025Even masseuses aren’t safe as AI leaders predict career reinvention, “micro-retirements” amid job automation
At the Forbes AI 50 event in San Francisco, industry leaders from companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Harvey, and Figure AI discussed how humans will adapt to longer lifespans in an AI-dominated economy. The conversation reveals a growing tension between AI's promise to free humans for more meaningful work and its potential to eliminate jobs entirely, forcing a fundamental rethink of career planning and economic survival. What they're saying: Leaders envision AI creating opportunities for career reinvention and personal fulfillment rather than mass unemployment. "There's lifespan, there's health span, and then there's career span," explained Karen Lee, chief marketing officer of...
read Jun 24, 2025AI job applications flood LinkedIn with 11,000 per minute
AI-generated job applications are flooding the hiring process, with LinkedIn now processing 11,000 applications per minute—a 45% surge from last year. This "hiring slop" epidemic has created an escalating technological arms race between job seekers and employers, with both sides deploying increasingly sophisticated AI tools that are fundamentally breaking the traditional résumé-based hiring system. The scale of the problem: The flood of ChatGPT-crafted résumés has overwhelmed hiring managers across industries, creating unprecedented volume challenges. HR consultant Katie Tanner received over 1,200 applications for a single remote role, forcing her to remove the posting entirely and spend three months sorting through...
read Jun 23, 2025Not taking the bait: LinkedIn’s AI writing tool flops as professionals fear reputation damage
LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky revealed that the platform's AI-powered writing assistant for posts has proven less popular than expected, attributing the lukewarm reception to users' concerns about maintaining their professional reputation. The insight highlights how career-focused social platforms face unique challenges in AI adoption, as professionals prioritize authentic content over AI-generated efficiency when their reputation is at stake. What they're saying: Roslansky explained the tool's limited appeal during a Bloomberg interview, emphasizing the professional stakes involved. "We have an ability where you write a post on LinkedIn," Roslansky said. "We are not going to write it for you from scratch,...
read Jun 23, 2025AI computing divide leaves 150+ nations without critical infrastructure
Artificial intelligence computing power is creating a stark global divide, with only 32 countries hosting AI-specialized data centers while more than 150 nations have no such infrastructure. This digital gap is reshaping geopolitics and economics, as nations with advanced AI capabilities gain significant advantages in scientific research, business automation, and technological sovereignty, while those without face mounting challenges in talent retention and economic development. The big picture: The United States, China, and the European Union dominate the AI computing landscape, hosting more than half of the world's most powerful data centers used for developing complex AI systems. American companies operate...
read Jun 20, 2025AI critics who downplay or ignore job displacement fears are stuck in 2023, argues top tech journalist
Vox tech journalist Kelsey Piper argues that academic critics are missing the point about AI's real-world impact by focusing too heavily on whether AI can "truly reason." While philosophers and linguists debate AI's cognitive limitations, the technology is already beginning to displace workers across industries, making theoretical questions about reasoning increasingly irrelevant to practical concerns about employment and economic disruption. What you should know: Recent academic papers claiming AI lacks genuine reasoning abilities are gaining widespread attention, but they may be distracting from more pressing concerns about AI's actual capabilities. A viral Apple paper argued AI models have "fundamental scaling...
read Jun 20, 2025Race to the bottom line: States forfeit $6B in tax breaks to Big Tech data centers
States are forfeiting hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue through data center sales tax exemptions, with 16 states alone granting nearly $6 billion in breaks over the past five years to tech giants like Amazon, Meta, and Google. The generous incentives have sparked debate about whether massive corporations should receive such benefits, especially since data centers create relatively few permanent jobs while consuming enormous amounts of electricity. What you should know: A CNBC analysis found that 42 states provide full or partial sales tax exemptions to data centers, with 37 states passing specific legislation for these breaks. Microsoft...
read Jun 20, 202588% of companies plan to boost AI hiring through 2025 with employee productivity top priority
Artificial intelligence has moved from Silicon Valley buzzword to boardroom imperative, fundamentally reshaping how organizations approach everything from customer service to strategic planning. This technological shift is creating an unprecedented demand for AI talent across industries, as companies scramble to build internal capabilities that can harness these powerful tools effectively. Recent research from Foundry, a leading technology research firm, reveals the scope of this hiring surge. Their survey of senior IT professionals shows that 88% of organizations have already invested or plan to invest in AI capability-building tools, with 61% planning to increase their AI spending through 2025. Only 1%...
read Jun 20, 2025California’s “No Robo Bosses Act” would ban AI from making firing – but not hiring -decisions
California's Senate Bill 7, known as the "No Robo Bosses Act," would prohibit companies from primarily relying on AI systems to make critical employment decisions like firing, promoting, or disciplining workers. Introduced by Senator Jerry McNerney, a Democrat representing Stockton's 5th District, the legislation aims to ensure human oversight remains central to workplace management decisions as AI increasingly infiltrates HR processes. What you should know: The bill requires human review and corroborating evidence for any AI-driven employment decisions. Companies would be banned from using automated systems as the primary decision-maker for promotions, disciplinary actions, or terminations. If AI systems are...
read Jun 19, 2025Professional dog walking looking better as Harvard study finds AI threatens jobs in creative, white-collar sector
Harvard Business Review researchers have published a comprehensive analysis examining how current AI capabilities are poised to disrupt virtually every sector of the labor market, from creative industries to professional services. The study reveals that existing AI models—and the more advanced, cost-effective versions already in development—pose immediate threats to jobs across writing, design, finance, law, medicine, and academia by delivering comparable quality at dramatically reduced costs. What you should know: AI's disruptive potential extends far beyond theoretical scenarios, targeting both creative and analytical professions with current technology. Creative professionals including writers, designers, photographers, architects, animators, and brand advertisers face direct...
read Jun 19, 2025“Learn to code” is nonsense says risk analyst, as computer science grads face 6.1% unemployment
Risk analyst Ian Bremmer declared that "learn to code" has become worse career advice than "get a face tattoo," citing AI's rapid displacement of programming jobs during a recent appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher." His stark assessment reflects a dramatic reversal in the tech job market, where recent computer science graduates now face higher unemployment rates than those who studied journalism, political science, and English. The unemployment reality: Recent data from the New York Federal Reserve reveals computer science and engineering majors are struggling more than expected in today's job market. Computer science majors face a 6.1% unemployment...
read Jun 19, 2025License to snoop, snipe? Plaud AI sells 1M voice recorders as workplace privacy debates intensify
Plaud AI has sold over one million of its voice-recording devices that use artificial intelligence to transcribe and summarize conversations in real-time. The wearable gadgets, priced at $159 each, are positioning themselves as productivity tools for corporate executives and professionals, but they're raising significant questions about workplace privacy and recording ethics as they prepare to hit Best Buy shelves this August. What you should know: Plaud offers two AI-powered recording devices designed to streamline workplace note-taking and meeting documentation. The Plaud Note slips into a phone case or shirt pocket, while the smaller Note Pin can be worn as a...
read Jun 19, 2025Always on-call? Microsoft study finds workers face 271 daily messages in “infinite workday”
The modern workplace has developed a peculiar problem: work never actually ends. Microsoft's latest research reveals a troubling reality where the traditional 9-to-5 workday has morphed into an always-on digital treadmill that leaves employees exhausted and organizations less productive than ever. The tech giant's new report, "Breaking down the infinite workday," analyzes how millions of people use Microsoft 365 products like Outlook, Teams, and Office applications. The findings paint a stark picture of professional life in 2025—one where workers juggle 271 daily messages across email and chat platforms, attend meetings during their most productive hours, and check email well past...
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