Are You an Employee or AI’s Guinea Pig?

The New York Fed just posted a blog basically saying: “Chill out, the robots aren’t stealing your jobs.” According to them, AI use is skyrocketing, 40% of service companies and a quarter of manufacturers now have some robot sidekick in the office, but layoffs? Rare. Instead of kicking people out, companies are teaching them to work with AI. So the Fed’s message is: “See? It’s not scary. Look, the robots are just here to help you with Excel.”

But is this wisdom or denial? It’s kind of like your friend who insists they’re “fine” after their fifth energy drink. Sure, technically, they’re still standing. But how long before they start vibrating through the wall? The Fed admits companies do expect AI to eventually shrink staff and slow hiring, but they’re brushing that off for now with a very soothing “everything’s steady.” Translation: “No worries, the iceberg is still a mile away.”

Meanwhile, the rivals are out here screaming. Goldman Sachs has been yelling “millions of jobs are doomed!” like the kid who tells ghost stories at sleepovers. McKinsey keeps publishing apocalyptic PowerPoints with scarier graphs than a haunted house. And the Dallas Fed?

They’re out here selling productivity miracles like snake oil at a county fair. The New York Fed just rolled its eyes and said, “Calm down, Chicken Littles.” Either they’re the cool-headed adult in the room, or the guy insisting the barbecue grill isn’t on fire while smoke pours into the neighbor’s yard.

And what does this mean for you? If you’re a CEO, the question is whether you believe the Fed’s “don’t panic” speech, or whether you’re quietly Googling “how to retrain workers before the robots get too smart.” If you’re a Manager, congrats, you’re now running group therapy for humans adjusting to their new AI coworkers.

If you’re an employee, the robot isn’t here to steal your chair just yet, but maybe stop teaching it all your shortcuts, because we’ve seen this movie before. And if you’re just an everyday American, this is your heads-up that the Fed’s calm tone could either mean you’re safe… or that you’re living in the prequel to “The Great Layoff.”

Bottom line: the New York Fed says AI isn’t killing jobs. The real question is, are they being honest, or are they just putting a friendly smiley face sticker on a robot that’s quietly learning your job faster than you can say, “Hey, that was my spreadsheet”?

- Matt Masinga