Jon Stewart is directing his criticism towards tech industry leaders for their “false promises” regarding artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on employment.
On Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show,” Stewart humorously scrutinized some of Silicon Valley’s most influential figures in AI, including Sam Altman from OpenAI, Satya Nadella from Microsoft, and Sundar Pichai from Google.
Stewart lambasted the advanced technology as a potential replacement for human labor, characterizing AI as a looming threat to traditional jobs.
While concerns about AI displacing certain occupations are not new, tech executives have been striving to reassure the public that their AI innovations are intended to enhance productivity rather than replace workers.
Stewart highlighted historical instances of significant technological disruptions, many of which were heralded as offering a future devoid of mundane tasks and toil.
“But the reality is, they come for our jobs,” Stewart remarked, seeking assurances that emerging AI technologies would not render human labor obsolete.
Stewart accused tech leaders of occasionally revealing the “real truth,” playing a clip of Nadella acknowledging that AI could lead to “overall displacement in the labor market.”
Additionally, Stewart mocked the notion that AI is generating new employment opportunities, such as roles for prompt engineers, suggesting that such positions could easily be automated.
Later in the episode, Stewart disclosed his desire to explore the topic on his Apple TV+ show, “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” but stated that Apple had objected to the segment.
“Why this sensitivity? Why the reluctance to engage in these discussions publicly?” Stewart pondered, referencing Apple’s alleged request to avoid interviewing Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan about AI.
Returning to “The Daily Show” in February to host on Mondays, Stewart resumed his commentary on current affairs after departing in 2015.
Representatives for Stewart did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, submitted outside of standard working hours.
It’s noteworthy that Axel Springer, Business Insider’s parent company, has a global agreement permitting OpenAI to utilize its media brands’ reporting for training its models.
On February 28, Axel Springer, along with 31 other media entities, filed a $2.3 billion lawsuit against Google in a Dutch court, alleging financial losses stemming from the tech giant’s advertising practices.
