They built AI. Now Silicon Valley workers protest its threat to jobs and humanity

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Set us as preferred Silicon Valley residents are increasingly trying to stop the advance of artificial intelligence, even as the region attracts hundreds of billions of dollars in investment to expand the technology’s reach.Companies and workers around San Francisco Bay sparked the global AI explosion.

Now, the nation’s tech hub also sits at the center of an intense and growing revolt against its ability to cause harm and replace humans.Hunter Glenn joined a group of protesters outside the San Francisco headquarters of AI trailblazer Anthropic on Monday because he is worried that AI poses a threat not only to jobs but also to humanity.Business Tech giants such as Meta and Coinbase continue to lay off employees, citing the way AI is reshaping how people work.

Tech workers are navigating a crossroads in their careers and a brutal job market.He was laid off as a copywriter soon after his company started using AI tools.“They didn’t tell me ‘we’re replacing you with AI,’ but that’s the impression I got,” he said.Tech workers and activists have staged protests this month throughout the area, sounding the alarm that AI will become tougher to control as it grows more powerful.Prominent economists, tech leaders and researchers have warned that AI could transform the economy for better or worse, bringing large-scale job displacement.

And people are pushing back against new data centers in their communities.The public outcry comes as AI becomes more intertwined in people’s daily lives, triggering fears as big as human extinction.

Companies are pushing employees to embrace AI tools to do more with fewer people.Teenagers are socializing more with AI chatbots, raising concerns about the technology’s effect on mental health.

Yet tech companies are showing no signs of slowing down as they release more powerful AI tools and rope in new customers in government, healthcare and other industries.Business ...