When AI Profits Cost Human Jobs: What Microsoft's $27 Billion Quarter Tells Us
When AI Profits Cost Human Jobs: What Microsoft's $27 Billion Quarter Tells Us Microsoft recently reported staggering earnings: a net income of $27.2 billion in just one quarter—a 24% jump from the previous year. Yet, alongside these historic profits came a troubling reality: the layoff of 9,000 workers. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, meanwhile, continues his relentless championing of artificial intelligence, declaring, "Cloud and AI is the driving force of business transformation across every industry and sector." Let that sink in for a moment. Those 9,000 people weren't retrained. They weren't transitioned into new roles leveraging AI. They were simply let go—partly in favor of automation and AI-driven efficiencies. While Microsoft consistently ranks on "Top Ten" lists for ethical AI usage, these layoffs make the situation murkier. True, not all those jobs were directly replaced by AI, but the association is too significant to dismiss. We stand at ...