Many execs have long insisted that AI is here to augment rather than replace human workers. Or that jobs made obsolete by AI will be offset by new roles the technology creates. But as LLMs evolve, could that math be changing?

Recent reports paint a perhaps more troubling picture of the impact that advanced AI capabilities could have on jobs. While many businesses are still figuring out how generative AI fits into their operations, execs are already starting to consider the tech as a factor in hiring.

The wave of reports also comes as experts expect AI systems to grow more autonomous, as agents that can perform routine tasks replace chatbots as the object of business fixation.

Here’s a breakdown:

• The World Economic Forum (WEF) found that 41% of employers surveyed expect to downsize their workforces “where AI can replicate people’s work” in the next five years. Around 22% of today’s jobs may disappear due to AI, with 170 million roles created and 92 million lost for a net growth of 78 million.
  
  Like other surveys have shown, office jobs are generally more at risk than in previous waves of tech disruption. “The presence of both graphic designers and legal secretaries just outside the top 10 fastest-declining job roles, a first-time prediction not seen in previous editions of the Future of Jobs Report, may illustrate GenAI’s increasing capacity to perform knowledge work,” according to the WEF report.

Keep reading here.—PK

Feeling congested?

We’re not talking about the sniffles. Traffic congestion in the US got worse in 2024, according to Dutch mapping and location tech company TomTom’s 14th annual Traffic Index, which includes data on traffic in 500 cities in 62 countries––its largest-ever dataset. The index ranks cities based on average travel time and congestion level.

The index reflects growing traffic congestion and slower speeds in many US cities––but there’s optimism that public policy and tech solutions can make it easier to get from Point A to Point B even in the densest urban environments.

“The combination of population and economic growth is putting significant strain on our transportation networks,” Ralf-Peter Schäfer, VP of traffic at TomTom, said in a statement. “Outdated infrastructure and inefficient road planning fail to keep pace with demand. Additionally, the surge in e-commerce has led to a rise in freight traffic, further complicating the situation.”

“Without a shift toward more regulation and sustainable transportation options,” he added, “we risk worsening congestion that impacts everyone in our cities.”

Keep reading here.—JG

Supporting the electrical grid is a team effort, and a new certification body called the Mercury Consortium aims to help low-carbon technologies become better collaborators—or, should we say, interoperators?

Spearheaded by software platform Kraken, the Mercury Consortium is a group of more than 30 utility providers, manufacturers, and tech companies that are working together to standardize how low-carbon technologies like solar panels, smart thermostats, heat pumps, and residential batteries connect to the grid—while also ensuring its energy efficiency and resiliency.

Devrim Celal, Kraken’s chief marketing and flexibility officer, also told Tech Brew that the consortium isn’t just hoping to solve a current problem; it’s hoping to avoid one in the future, too. Because the number of low-carbon technologies consumers buy is only expected to increase, the grid will be overburdened unless the tech can work together rather than compete for power.

“We’ve got 40 million [low-carbon] devices today. We’re going to have 200 million by the end of this decade,” Celal said. “Unless we’ve solved this problem soon, that 200 million device problem would require us to upgrade the network so much—we can’t do it. There isn’t enough capital.”

Keep reading here.—TC

Google’s new AI “Gems” promise personalized assistants for any task—are they actually worth it? We put them to the test.