The Editorial. The Twilight of Wage Employment

It always takes a little time for reality to catch up with progress. This is especially true when technological promises are dazzling. Behind the endless and exciting applications of artificial intelligence lies a much less encouraging revolution for employees. Amazon announced yesterday the elimination of 14,000 "office" positions, largely linked to the rise of AI. The American giant's decision foreshadows a movement that will accelerate in the coming months, sparing no one.

The impact of AI on the job market can no longer be ignored. While a hiring freeze seems to be the first step in this ongoing revolution, waves of layoffs will follow the frenetic pace of algorithms, automation, and chatbots in the future. AI will not only transform professions, eliminating some and creating others; in the coming years, it could fuel unemployment and eliminate nearly half of all white-collar jobs.

The refrain that AI will allow humanity to devote itself to the noblest tasks and to surpass itself can only have a very limited effect on employees who are constantly told that work is a source of emancipation, dignity, and material well-being. AI is hitting hard against the refrain of "work more to earn more" and the French social model as soon as it replaces contributing workers.

While it is important not to give in to doom and gloom, the difficulty French companies are having in integrating digital transformation into job management and adapting career paths right now is not reassuring. A dream machine, AI is delivering its first economic nightmares to a society that is still unaware of how its freedoms are being undermined by the digital administration of existence.