Bernie Sanders says AI's "productivity boost" should mean 4-day workweeks, not layoffs

[midian182]

A hot potato: AI companies never shut up about how their technologies are making everyone super productive, supposedly allowing us to do more in less time. But Senator Bernie Sanders says if this really is the case, we should all be working 4-day weeks.

During a recent interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, Sanders pointed out that the extra time that workers save through the use of AI tools should be given back to them – not filled with extra work.

"Technology is gonna work to improve us, not just the people who own the technology and the CEOs of large corporations," Sanders said. "You are a worker, your productivity is increasing because we give you AI, right? Instead of throwing you out on the street, I'm gonna reduce your workweek to 32 hours."

"And by the way, not a radical idea," Sanders added. "There are companies around the world that are doing it with some success."

Some of those countries Sanders is referring to include the UK, France, Japan, and Germany, where companies and government organizations have been experimenting with four-day weeks without reducing worker pay.

An aggregated global study found that company revenue was up 8% during these four-day weeks, while among workers, fatigue was down 10% and stress was down around 35%. The study also found that overall productivity stayed the same or even increased – by 40%, in the case of Microsoft Japan.

But most companies care little about employees' work-life balance or mental health, as illustrated by so many of them ending fully remote work, demanding staff get back in the office or find another job. In their eyes, the best way to take advantage of all the free time created by AI use is to lay off workers – something we're seeing all the time in the tech industry.

Last week, it was reported that Microsoft is preparing to lay off thousands of employees next month. It comes as the company invests an estimated $80 billion into AI infrastructure over the next fiscal year.

"Let's use technology to benefit workers," Sanders concluded. "That means give you more time with your family, with your friends, for education, whatever the hell you wanna do." But for many people, the only way AI gives them time away from work is when it takes their job.

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Bernie Sanders says AI's "productivity boost" should mean 4-day workweeks, not layoffs

 

[Theinsanegamer]

What he is saying, in effect, is that AI should be used to enable inefficiency for the purposes of charity.

 

[opckieran]

Nobody has an obligation to employ you.

 

[WhiteLeaff]

- The guys at the top moving the circus only care about money,
- The guys in the middle who take care of the laws to maintain order, are corrupt and have money invested in the circus companies
- The masses at the bottom who elect the above class are too ignorant to vote consciously based on viable ideas, instead they vote for emotion, false marketing and glitter.

We're done, sir.

 

[gdavid65]

Nobody has an obligation to employ you.

Nobody has an obligation to work for you either....

 

[opckieran]

Nobody has an obligation to work for you either....

Say you pay somebody to mow your lawn; according to you, they don’t then have an obligation to do the work you paid them for? Not sure what your angle is here…

 

[candle86]

Well sure you can have that extra day off but your salary is going to be decreased to reflect that You're paid for the amount of work you put in if you're putting in less work you shouldn't keep the same pay.


Also why is the guy that has never worked in actual job in his life got elected to Congress and has become a billionaire in his own right somebody that everybody thinks represent them the little guy. You know this guy's never actually done a hard day's job in his entire existence right you know he's never had to earn anything right?

 

[lonetac]

Say you pay somebody to mow your lawn; according to you, they don’t then have an obligation to do the work you paid them for? Not sure what your angle is here…

Talk about completely not getting any sort of context, holey moley.

Obviously if you pay someone to mow your lawn they will mow your lawn. Thats not what he said.

Your comment was nobody is obligated to work for you and his comment was nobody is obligated to work for you either...

Talk about missing the point. Right over your head man.

Bernies point is if AI allows businesses to have increased productivity then the extra time and money earned by that AI should not demand more work from workers. As things get more efficient and better, we should be working less, not more. The benefits should come to the workers, not just more giant profits for the guy up top. Including livable wages, benefits, health care and all that instead of just empowering someone to have a 5th yacht while you slave away.

This really isnt a hard concept to understand but looking at the brain rot here, I can see many are grateful and desire to be indentured servants to an elite class and are perfectly fine with it.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why so many of you want your life and everyone elses life to be miserable and spending 60 hours a week working just to feed yourself. Its mind boggling. All with the sole purpose of patronizing someone you dont know.

 

[lonetac]

Well sure you can have that extra day off but your salary is going to be decreased to reflect that You're paid for the amount of work you put in if you're putting in less work you shouldn't keep the same pay.


Also why is the guy that has never worked in actual job in his life got elected to Congress and has become a billionaire in his own right somebody that everybody thinks represent them the little guy. You know this guy's never actually done a hard day's job in his entire existence right you know he's never had to earn anything right?

If you think Bernie has never worked a hard day in his life, you dont know Bernie and just demonstrably showed it. Bernie was fighting for your rights before you were born. Go look at his accomplishments. Bernie isnt a billionaire either. Wow, get your facts right. Even if you hate Bernie, you cant deny his accomplishments. You just made up stuff to act like you have a point.

Now if you said Trump had never worked a day in his life, that would be agreeable. Trump is a billionaire, inherited his wealth and has a career of ripping people off. He talks about taking away american holidays while he golfs 30% of the time he has been in office. That guy has never worked an honest day in his life.

 

[Eldrach]

AI will slowly change how we work - some companies will fire people thinking people are replacable - but AI cannot replicate human interaction. The largest telecompany in Norway tried outsourcing to India and Chatbots with AI - they lost a huge part of their customers and have now reverted to human support staff in Norway.
We’ll reach a point where there will be a balance between AI and Humans eventually

 

[torvuswalds]

What he is saying, in effect, is that AI should be used to enable inefficiency for the purposes of charity.

That is not at all what he said but okay.

 

[stewi0001]

Overall, I am for it. The real question would be if people are productive with the extra time. Meaning: spending time with the family, getting caught up on projects, interacting with the community. In other words, doing something besides watching videos, doom scrolling, and etc. all day.

 

[AlexIL]

- The guys at the top moving the circus only care about money,
- The guys in the middle who take care of the laws to maintain order, are corrupt and have money invested in the circus companies
- The masses at the bottom who elect the above class are too ignorant to vote consciously based on viable ideas, instead they vote for emotion, false marketing and glitter.

We're done, sir.

Welcome to Rome.
Panem et circenses aka bread and circuses, old Roman style of ruling still viable today.
Nothing changes under the Sun.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

The trees vote for the axe, because it's handle is made of wood.

The idea that we can do things in a way that isn't a dystopian corporate hellscape really seems to scare some people. There are no rules to life but the ones we make for ourselves.

 

[Alfatawi Mendel]

Some of the comments here are crazy.
It seems some have such a miserable existence that they want everyone else to have an equally miserable existence. Looks like all that money and power can't replace human decency, or the desire to see your fellow human with a degree of comfort.
There is a word that describes such mental deficiency.

 

[GhostLegion]

The lack of understanding in the comment section is breathtaking. What Bernie advocates for is backed up by economics and it isn’t unreasonable. By the logic of some people, now that we have electric lights, why stop working at all? Historically, people have worked for far longer than a “mere” 40 hours a week. Many companies have given this a shot and still are profitable. Some were not. Economics is an amoral science as all the sciences are. It is the job of people to enforce morality. Not every job can be “enhanced” by AI. Good luck increasing the productivity of farm hands, tradespeople, and others.

Do any of you truly believe that society as a whole will collapse if we all work a little less? Consider some of those cited statistics. Consider the cost economic costs balanced against the very material economic benefits. Reduced burnout and stress translate to reductions in diseases and conditions related to the same. We can obviously also count on reductions in repetitive stress injuries. So there will be less healthcare costs, which in turn also raises productivity to an extent as fewer people will be out sick or recovering from surgeries etc.

Consider the fact that there could be less turnover at the companies that employ such a workweek, which would translate into less cost from training replacements and the accumulation of more human capital, which, in turn, can raise productivity.

Some of what I said is fairly theoretical and the true costs/benefits need to be modeled. It’s possible the costs would exceed the monetary/economic benefit. At that point, we can now have a reasonable debate as to if the juice is worth the squeeze. What value do you place on your time? I for one would prefer 8 hours a week with my soon to be born daughter instead of working. What about you? Can you not imagine a better use of your time than working if such time didn’t result in a pay decrease?

Furthermore, if a company is so inefficient as to be able to increase productivity using AI, but not maintain profitability if an equivalent man hours were eliminated…then it was never profitable to begin with. Also, you could argue that if such a work week is mandated, that would remove the competitive urge/risk to keep the same 40 hour work week to maintain a lead over competitor who might otherwise retain 40 hours and employ AI as you decrease to 32.

I’m just saying, too many of y’all either lack the economic training to make reasoned arguments on this topic or just don’t care at all.

I’ll just end by saying this…if we don’t build these robots/AI to reduce our own labor/increase our own happiness, then why tf are we creating them? Money is a tool and nothing more, it isn’t valuable in of itself except what it can do for us.

 

[DrSuess]

4 days of work equal 4 days of pay, I am sure that won't even go over well even with Sanders' supporters. With automation people should be able to get task done faster, if they can get tasks done faster the number of employees can be reduced while still maintaining the same productivity level. Corporations will always reduce the number of employees that they can. Fewer employees means lower operating cost and higher profit.

 

[kira setsu]

That's enough techspot for this week,

there's alot of miserable and hateful folks here.

 

[lonetac]

4 days of work equal 4 days of pay, I am sure that won't even go over well even with Sanders' supporters. With automation people should be able to get task done faster, if they can get tasks done faster the number of employees can be reduced while still maintaining the same productivity level. Corporations will always reduce the number of employees that they can. Fewer employees means lower operating cost and higher profit.

actually, some countries and companies have adopted a 4 day work week and those companies profits rose quicker, employee retention increased as well as satisfaction of working.

There has been quite a bit of testing the grounds here. Its not unrealistic at all. Read up on it.

Here is a start:

The results are in: the UK's four-day week pilot

Read the full results from the world's largest four-day week trial to date, offering a 'major breakthrough' for shorter working hours.

autonomy.work

 

[GodisanAtheist]

4 days of work equal 4 days of pay, I am sure that won't even go over well even with Sanders' supporters. With automation people should be able to get task done faster, if they can get tasks done faster the number of employees can be reduced while still maintaining the same productivity level. Corporations will always reduce the number of employees that they can. Fewer employees means lower operating cost and higher profit.

- You do realize things like a corporations, work weeks, pay, etc are human constructs and not laws of nature, yeah? How they are constructed and operated are entirely within our control.