The rise of AI is making the future of work look bleak – but it could be an opportunity

2026-02-19 · Source: AI (artificial intelligence) | The Guardian · Field: Business & Management — Human Resources & Workforce Development, Corporate Strategy & Leadership, Operations & Process Management · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, short

Summary

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is generating widespread anxiety among workers, with a 2025 Pew survey indicating 64% of the public believes AI will lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years. This contrasts sharply with the optimism of tech CEOs, who predict AI will soon perform complex tasks like software engineering. The Guardian's "Reworked" series, launching in 2026, will explore the human implications of AI in the workplace, focusing on worker power and the realities versus hype of AI's transformative potential. Experts suggest that AI-induced anxieties are dissolving traditional class divisions between blue-collar workers, who face algorithmic surveillance, and white-collar workers, who now fear similar tracking or displacement into manual labor. This collective concern is seen as a catalyst for a resurgence in worker organizing and a potential rebalancing of power between employers and employees.

Key takeaway

For labor organizers and policy makers concerned about worker rights, the current anxieties surrounding AI present a unique opportunity. You should focus on building solidarity across traditional class lines, as both blue-collar and white-collar workers increasingly face similar AI-driven challenges. This collective concern can be channeled into renewed efforts to advocate for policies and practices that ensure technology serves shared prosperity, rather than exacerbating power imbalances.

Key insights

AI-driven anxieties are fostering cross-class solidarity, potentially revitalizing worker power and labor movements.

Principles

• Technology's direction is a societal choice.
• Worker power can counter technological disempowerment.

In practice

• Monitor AI's impact on diverse worker segments.
• Support cross-industry labor organizing efforts.

Topics

• AI Impact on Employment
• Worker Power
• Labor Movement
• Algorithmic Surveillance
• Technology Governance

Best for: General Interest, Policy Maker, AI Ethicist

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by AI (artificial intelligence) | The Guardian.