Automation Is Moving Faster Than Governments Can Respond

Artificial intelligence isn’t transforming the job market in the future — it’s doing it now. Banks are laying off employees, IT companies are downsizing, and call centers are going silent. In 2024 alone, over 95,000 people left the tech sector. In China, factories are already running with barely any human staff. They operate 24/7 in the dark — machines don’t need light. AI reviews contracts, writes code, diagnoses illnesses. Dozens of professions — from accountants to copywriters — are becoming not just obsolete, but redundant. And this is just the beginning.

Few benefit from automation. Tech corporations are boosting profits. Investors are building capital. Meanwhile, people who were once essential are losing their jobs. It’s not just blue-collar workers at risk — it’s office professionals too. According to McKinsey, up to 70% of tasks could be handed over to neural networks. In law firms and banks, AI is already replacing human roles. A Brookings study found that one-third of workers could lose half of their responsibilities. Meanwhile, new job opportunities are scarce.

We were promised AI would free up time for creativity and rest. With access to entertainment becoming easier than ever, life was supposed to feel more balanced. After all, if we don’t need to work as much, we could just log in, play a game, or watch a film. And interest in these types of leisure activities is rising. According to gaming platform https://plinkogames.in/, more and more people are playing Plinko and other gambling arcades. That is, of course, if they actually have the time — optimization was supposed to make that possible.

In reality, workloads have compressed. There’s less routine, but more pressure. Doctors work faster — but don’t spend more time with patients. Teachers fill out forms instead of talking to students. Even developers increasingly rely on prompts rather than skills. Machines speed things up — but they don’t make work more human. Where AI is introduced, jobs don’t get easier — people just don’t get to stay as long.

Government responses to automation are all over the map. Europe is passing legislation. Asia is building smart factories. The U.S. is focused on speed over safety. In Latin America, AI is just starting to penetrate the service sector. In Africa, it’s barely present due to weak infrastructure. But the consequences will be global. Poland and Hungary are already cutting shifts at manufacturing plants. In India and the Philippines, hundreds of thousands of support agents are at risk. Wherever AI advances fastest, the disruptions will be most severe.

AI isn’t just upgrading tools — it’s rewriting the rules. For the first time, technology is making decisions and shaping reality on its own. Without a shift in values, it won’t liberate — it will dominate. As long as employers prioritize speed over meaning, and governments chase growth over protection, AI will keep cutting people out instead of lifting them up. The hope lies in conscious action: rethinking systems, creating new jobs, and protecting those left behind. Without that, automation won’t be progress — it’ll be a dead end.