Jeff Bezos, chair of Amazon’s (AMZN) board of directors, says fears that artificial intelligence (AI) will displace human workers are overblown.
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High conviction AMZN bears now have this Tradr ETFIn a wide-ranging interview with CNBC, Bezos dismissed fears of AI-fueled job displacement, arguing that the technology will augment workers and improve the global economy in coming years. “I think those people are dead wrong,” he said of AI’s critics. “What’s really going to happen is that it’s going to elevate all of these people.”
Bezos predicted that AI technologies, now and in the future, will boost productivity, resulting in deflation across a range of goods and services. However, he added that AI will only benefit the world if “we let this technology play out and don’t hamstring it with regulation too early.”
Layoffs at Amazon
Bezos’ comments about Amazon come after the company announced 16,000 corporate job cuts globally this year as it looks to find AI efficiencies and allocates $200 billion in capital expenditures to AI technologies.
The comments from Bezos, who co-founded Amazon and has an estimated net worth of $272 billion, also come as public perceptions of AI turn negative. A recent Pew Research Center survey found half of U.S. adults are more concerned than excited about the increased use of AI.
Is AMZN Stock a Buy?
AMZN stock has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 46 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 45 Buy and one Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. The average AMZN price target of $318.21 implies 20% upside from current levels.
