Gig workers are endlessly exploited. AI could make more of us share their fate
TL;DR
Klarna cut hundreds of customer-service roles in 2024 for an AI chatbot, then brought people back after quality complaints. The catch: CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski frames the new setup closer to an Uber-style labor pool than full-time hiring. The bot still handles basic questions, while on-demand agents deal with harder cases. That is the core risk: AI may not simply delete jobs, but split stable roles into smaller tasks with fewer protections.
Nauti's Take
The dangerous version of AI at work does not look like a robot apocalypse; it looks like a calendar full of micro-shifts with no safety net. The flexibility pitch is PR-heavy: for companies it means variable costs, for workers it can mean variable rent, variable healthcare and a variable future.
Any company rolling out AI should report not only productivity gains, but which roles stay full-time, which become contractor work and which turn into unpaid waiting.
Briefingshow
The real shift is not whether the chatbot is good enough; it is what happens to the employment contract. Once AI absorbs the predictable layer of a role, people are left with spikes, escalations, training and oversight. Companies can buy that remainder as contractor labor, avoiding benefits, paid leave and long-term obligations.
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