Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has once again dismissed concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) taking away human jobs. Speaking at the VivaTech conference in Paris, Bezos said he disagrees with the view that AI will make workers redundant. Instead, he believes that the technology could lead to a shortage of available labour.“I know there’s a lot of concern that many people have, including many smart people, that AI is going to make humans redundant. I totally disagree with this point of view. And I think, in fact, AI is going to create a labour shortage,” Bezos said during his conversation with Blue Origin CEO David Limp.The comments echo arguments Bezos has made in recent months. In a May interview with CNBC, he said A.I. was a productivity tool and wouldn’t replace workers, just as people moved from shovels to bulldozers. At that time, he also described the future challenge as “labour scarcity” rather than unemployment.According to Bezos, human demand for goods, services and new opportunities is effectively unlimited, and AI will help remove barriers that currently prevent people from achieving more. As productivity increases, he argues, the need for human effort will continue to grow rather than decline.
How Jeff Bezos’ view contrasts with concerns over AI-driven job losses
Jeff Bezos’ outlook differs from concerns expressed by workers, policymakers and even leaders within the AI industry. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that half of Americans fear AI could put them or someone in their household out of work. Earlier this year, a US Federal Reserve governor warned that a “jobless boom” leaving workers “essentially unemployable” was “totally possible.”A number of AI executives have also spoken of the possibility of disruption to the workforce. Dario Amodei has previously warned of “unusually painful” changes to white-collar professions from AI, while Sam Altman has spoken about the potential for profound labour market changes from advanced AI systems.The discussion follows tech companies’ continued headcount cuts while they invest heavily in AI. Industry reports show tech layoffs have already surpassed 115,000 through May 2026, with companies like Meta Platforms, Amazon and Snap Inc. citing some workforce reductions to AI-related efficiency gains.
What Jeff Bezos said about his AI startup Prometheus and future technology investments
Jeff Bezos also talked about Prometheus, an AI startup he co-founded in 2025 with former Google X scientist Vik Bajaj, at the event. The company is focused on applying AI to engineering, manufacturing and product design across industries such as aerospace, automotive development and pharmaceuticals.Bezos has described Prometheus as an effort to build what he calls an “artificial general engineer” capable of helping design and optimise physical products. He has also clarified that the company is not focused on robotics.The discussion extended beyond AI to space exploration, another area where Bezos has invested heavily through Blue Origin. He argued that lower-cost access to space could eventually enable the sourcing of raw materials from asteroids, the Moon and other near-Earth objects.“If space travel gets reliable enough and inexpensive enough, and we can get materials from asteroids and near-Earth objects and the moon, then this garden planet can be returned to its pre–Industrial Revolution state,” Bezos noted.Limp also updated attendees on Blue Origin’s recovery efforts following an explosion at the company’s New Glenn launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Fla., last month. He said the reconstruction work had begun, but no timelines were announced for future launches.
