The bogus four-day workweek that AI supposedly ‘frees up’
TL;DR
Media headlines celebrate AI as the key to a four-day workweek – but actual adoption remains thin.
Key Points
- Productivity gains from AI currently flow mostly to shareholders, not workers.
- Without bargaining power – unions or legislation – there is no automatic trickle-down of time savings.
- Younger workers demand better work-life balance, but corporate reality rarely matches the promise.
- Robert Reich, former US Secretary of Labor, argues: who captures AI gains is a political question, not a technical one.
Nauti's Take
The four-day workweek stays a PR promise as long as workers lack real bargaining power. AI saves time – but without legislation or unions, that time flows straight into profit margins.
Whoever controls the tools controls the gains. That is not a technical question, it is a question of power.
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