Amazon founder Bezos says AI will create jobs rather than replace workers

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has dismissed fears that artificial intelligence will make humans obsolete, arguing instead that the technology will increase demand for workers and create new opportunities.

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Speaking at the VivaTech conference in Paris, Jeff Bezos pushed back against warnings from experts and policymakers who believe AI could lead to widespread job losses. He maintained that the technology would help remove barriers to growth and ultimately boost the need for human labour.

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“I know there’s a lot of concern that many people have, including many smart people, that AI is going to make humans redundant and so on,” Bezos said.

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“I totally disagree with this point of view. And I think, in fact, AI is going to create a labour shortage.”

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Bezos presented an optimistic vision of AI’s role in society, saying people are often constrained not by a lack of ideas but by limitations that technology can help overcome.

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The billionaire entrepreneur was discussing his latest AI venture, Prometheus, which aims to accelerate physical manufacturing, an industry that is becoming increasingly automated.

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His remarks contrast with concerns expressed by several political and technology leaders. Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak, who now advises Microsoft and AI company Anthropic, recently said artificial intelligence was already affecting employment prospects for young people.

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In Britain, the Trades Union Congress has warned that AI could repeat “the disaster of deindustrialisation”, with jobs being “degraded or displaced” while shareholders reap the benefits. However, the union also acknowledged that the technology has the potential to transform industries if deployed responsibly and that workers could share in productivity gains.

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Beyond artificial intelligence, Bezos used his appearance at Europe’s biggest technology exhibition to discuss the future of space exploration.

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He argued that the challenge facing humanity’s expansion into space was not a lack of demand but limited access, describing the sector as “supply constrained, not demand constrained”.

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According to Bezos, the Moon represents the ideal starting point for establishing a lasting human presence beyond Earth because of its proximity and available resources.

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“We’re going to the Moon to stay, not just to visit,” Bezos told the audience, adding that technologies such as electrolysis could one day allow lunar resources to be used to refuel spacecraft and support a permanent settlement outside Earth.

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The conversation also touched on Blue Origin, Bezos’s private space company, which is developing technologies aimed at expanding human activity beyond the planet.

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