--- title: "Fear Grows That AI Is Permanently Eliminating Jobs" description: "Fears of permanent AI-driven layoffs are growing as unemployment rises and a poor hiring environment takes its toll." date: "2026-02-11" modified: "2026-02-11" authors: - name: "Joe Wilkins" job_title: "Correspondent" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jwilkins" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-layoffs-permanent-jobs" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" --- # Fear Grows That AI Is Permanently Eliminating Jobs ![A red office chair with armrests and wheels is positioned below a red sword pointing downward. Both objects are centered within a light purple circle, set against a yellow grid background.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images* In 2026, the grim comedy of late capitalism seems to have found a perfect punchline: workers laid off in a dismal job market are now being hired to [train AI systems]() meant to replace them altogether. If a great AI replacement ever comes to pass, the scale of potential displacement is massive. MIT researchers recently calculated that today's AI systems could already automate tasks performed by more than [20 million American workers](), or about 11.7 percent of the entire US labor force. And things are looking tangibly grim: in January, the total number of job cuts [exceeded even 2009](), when the country was still roiling from the great recession. That being the case, it's no surprise that workers are worried — and not just about their immediate employment prospects. The anxiety is evolving into something deeper, the result of AI's seemingly rapidly expanding intelligence. Back in August, a poll [conducted by *Reuters* and Ipsos]() showed that 71 percent of American respondents are concerned that AI will put "too many people out of work permanently." Though there was little evidence AI was causing mass unemployment at the time, a [slew of layoffs]() in early 2026 have thrust the possibility of AI-fueled labor dystopia back into the spotlight. Those anxieties aren't just felt by workers or labor leaders. A massive list calling for a "prohibition" on the development of superintelligence is now nearing [135,000 signatures]() online. Its endorsers run the gamut from tech luminaries like Geoffrey Hinton and Steve Wozniak to conservative commentators like Steve Bannon and Glenn Beck to national security operatives like Mike Mullen and Susan Rice. Even celebrity figures like Prince Harry are on board. "The future of AI should serve humanity, not replace it," the Duke of Sussex commented under his signature. "The true test of progress will be not how fast we move, but how wisely we steer." The list also includes members from both sides of the political aisle in the US. In an interview [with the *Atlantic*]()*,* Bannon explained why he put his name on the list alongside prominent Democratic lawmakers like Gary Ackerman and Joe Crowley — or, as he called them, "lefties that would rather spit on the floor than say Steve Bannon is with them on anything." "We're in a situation where people on the spectrum that are not, quite frankly, total adults... are making decisions for the species," Bannon said, with his usual delicacy and eloquence. "Not for the country. For the species. Once we hit this inflection point, there's no coming back. That's why it's got to be stopped, and we may have to take extreme measures." **More on AI:** *[New Site Lets AI Rent Human Bodies]()* ## Author At Futurism, I focus on the intersection of technology and power — examining the economics, history, and politics behind today’s dystopian headlines. As a writer, I’m interested in topics ranging from AI’s impact on labor to startups nobody asked for. My prior work includes bylines in Jacobin, Verso, and Blue Labyrinths. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Forbes, The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Time, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Verge, and Wired. I grew up in Michigan, attending Central Michigan University as well as Ball State University, where I earned a master of music. I now live in Brooklyn with my girlfriend and our cat Ziti. On weekends, you can find me hunched over a cold pint arguing geopolitics with the other transplants. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()