Jamie Dimon envisions a four-day work week: but who will benefit from AI advances?

In 2023, Chase CEO Jamie Dimon received total compensation of $36 million. This package included a base salary of $1.5 million and $34.5 million in variable performance-based incentives. As one of the financial industry’s most important figures, Dimon is seen by many as a guiding figure, and now he is throwing his weight behind a new approach to work.

Dimon believes that as artificial intelligence improves, humans may only need to work four days a week, as AI could complete up to 70 percent of the work that people currently do. However, unlike many advocates of a shorter work week who believe that productivity gains should allow workers to work fewer hours for the same pay, Dimon has a different perspective. These ideas were articulated by Dimon in an interview with Bloombergwhere he also stated that the same salaries would not be offered for shorter contracts and that some jobs would not benefit from a reduced working week.

The need to share the benefits of AI

During the interview, Dimon noted that “technology has been changing society for hundreds of years.” Consider the steam engine, the agricultural revolution, robotics and the Internet: they have all transformed the way humans work. Dimon takes a surprisingly optimistic tone, acknowledging that “sometimes” technology “takes away jobs,” but suggesting that society should focus on the “big picture.” However, in illustrating this picture, he bases his optimism on falsehoods and irrelevant data. Dimon discusses how technology has allowed GDP and productivity to increase.

While for Wall Street news of rising GDP and record stock prices may be cause for celebration, the average American worker has seen a decline in pay over the past fifty years. Increases in economic size and productivity mean little to workers if they do not share the benefits.

Dimon also talked about better health outcomes and longer life expectancy. However, the The richest women in the United States live 10 years longer on average than the poorest.and for men, the gap is even more staggering: Wealth adds 15 years to the average life expectancy of the top 1% compared to the bottom 1%. Even if you move to the median, the average person lives about five years less than the super-rich. While no one can deny that modern medical advances, such as antibiotics, have extended life around the world, what is critical in the United States context is that these advances must be accessible at an affordable price.

TO Gallup A recently conducted survey found that last year, a record 38 percent of respondents said they had skipped a medical appointment or procedure because of cost. While advances in cancer research can give people a much greater chance of survival, patients must receive timely treatment for these advances to make a difference. The same goes for heart disease. High healthcare costs can lead to worse health and financial outcomes. For example, delaying visiting the doctor until after a heart attack can result in more expensive treatments, such as surgeries or hospitalizations. If a person must leave the workforce to recover, they may not qualify for disability benefits, which will further reduce their income.

This is not to say that Dimon’s positive outlook is entirely wrong, but in order for the vast majority of people to share in the benefits of technological advances, those benefits must be distributed equitably, a principle that has rarely been upheld when controlled by the government. capital. Data of the Federal Reserve shows that since 1979, productive workforce has increased more than 330 percent, and real wages are still only about 10 percent higher than they were more than four decades ago.

Job displacement and recycling

When asked which jobs are likely to be eliminated, Dimon admitted he’s not sure. For those affected, it considers that reconversion and reeducation are mechanisms to reintegrate displaced workers into the labor market. In a competitive labor market where unemployment is rising rapidly and job opportunities are limited, many workers may be forced to accept any position they can find.

AI will undoubtedly increase productivity, and Dimon doesn’t dispute that those gains could come at the expense of jobs, just as other technological advances have. The fate of those whose roles are eliminated and the quality of jobs available to them remain entirely uncertain. There is no guarantee that the new jobs will match or exceed the eliminated roles in terms of pay, benefits or working conditions.

Additionally, considering a longer lifespan raises critical questions: Who lives longer? Poverty and economic desperation take years off people’s lives. Will the country’s poorest residents reach 100? If they do, how many decades will they spend working to retire with dignity? While Dimon envisions a society transformed by AI, achieving equitable outcomes requires more than optimism; requires systemic changes to ensure that the benefits of technological advances are shared widely and fairly.