Scale AI CEO Jason Droege is calling out CEOs using AI as an excuse to do what they were going to do anyway—cut jobs

According to Semafor, Droege claims companies are “washing the layoffs” with AI and downplays the idea that AI will trigger an employment “apocalypse.”

“The tools are going to add capabilities; they are going to make companies more competitive. Those more competitive companies are going to put pressure on less competitive companies,” he said.

The AI honcho also blamed employees for not learning how to use the burgeoning tech effectively. 

“Your livelihood could be at risk, but that’s because you didn’t adapt, not because there is something that just happened to us out of our control,” he said.

Droege warned that AI can be inconsistent, especially in areas where small errors can carry great consequences.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed similar statements to CNBC during the Invest In America Forum regarding what AI disruption might mean for the economy, jobs, and software companies.  

“AI is not going to take your job. Someone who knows how to use AI is going to take your job,” Bessent said.

The economy will see “big productivity gains that we haven’t seen for decades,” Bessent said. He encourages everyone to become AI literate and said people will need to “probe their worth to their employer.”

Bessent also stated that there are some “really great” investors in Silicon Valley who think AI will be a “great leveler” for small businesses because startups will be able to use AI to handle smaller tasks and will need fewer employees to do so.

Despite the comments from major industry leaders, some companies have made major layoffs due to rapid advancements in AI.

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