Despite Assurances, AI Firms’ Future May Depend on Replacing Human Labor

November 17, 2025

For centuries, the market economy has been powered by workers. Human ones. Sure, they have tended to get the raw end of any deal, but at least their participation has been necessary. Now one industry has a powerful incentive to change that. Futurism reports, “The AI Industry Can’t Profit Unless It Replaces Human Jobs, Warns Man Who Helped Create It.” Writer Joe Wilkins tells us:

“According to Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton — often called ‘the godfather of AI’ for his contributions to the tech — the future for AI in its current form is likely to be an economic dystopia. ‘I think the big companies are betting on it causing massive job replacement by AI, because that’s where the big money is going to be,’ he warned in a recent interview with Bloomberg. Hinton was commenting on enormous investments in the AI industry, despite a total lack of profit so far. By typical investment standards, AI should be a pariah.”

As an illustration, Wilkins notes OpenAI alone lost $11.5 billion in revenue just last quarter. The write-up continues:

“Asked by Bloomberg whether these jaw dropping investments could ever pay off without eviscerating the job market, Hinton’s reply was telling. ‘I believe that it can’t,’ he said. ‘I believe that to make money you’re going to have to replace human labor.’ For many who study labor and economics, it’s not a statement to be made lightly. Since it first emerged out of feudalism centuries ago, the market economy has relied on the exploitation of human labor — looms, steel mills, and automobile plants straight up can’t run without it.”

Until now, apparently. Or soon. In the Bloomberg interview, Hinton observes the fate of workers depends on “how we organize society.” Will the out-of-work masses starve? Or will society meet everyone’s basic needs, freeing us to live fulfilling lives? And who gets to make those decisions?

Cynthia Murrell, November 14, 2025

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Government, News, Social Media

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.