New data throws a wrench into debate that AI is causing layoffs

Ah, the great AI-layoff panic meets a data-shaped spanner. New numbers from Business Insider show that the companies splashing cash on AI are larger, VC-backed, and growing fast. So the narrative that AI is stealing jobs gets a bit more complicated — which is wonderful news for anyone who enjoys watching advocates on both sides tie themselves in knots. Meanwhile, California's shiny new public dashboard we noted last week dutifully tracks each monthly layoff announcement, probably with a drop-down menu that reads 'cause: AI / not AI / who knows'.

Expect the usual theatre: AI optimists will declare the data proves nothing to worry about, while safety advocates will warn that job displacement is merely delayed. Both are probably right, which is the real problem. The data doesn't actually say who is getting laid off — just that the companies buying AI are not the ones shrinking. That's like saying the house isn't on fire because the guy with the matches is having a great time in the garden.

And let's not forget that 'larger, VC-backed, faster-growing' is Silicon Valley shorthand for 'can afford to hire a PR team to spin the numbers'. The wrench thrown into the debate is about as useful as a chocolate teapot — it confirms nothing except that the data is messy, the debate is ideological, and the dashboard will keep updating until nobody remembers why we built it. Cheers.