Published on LinkedIn, Substack and AmitabhApte.com on Sept 7, 2025
In spotlight this week: When AI efficiency meets human cost
This week, AI showed us both sides of its coin: efficiency celebrated in boardrooms, uncertainty felt in households.
Salesforce announced it will cut around 4,000 jobs, the latest in a wave of Big Tech restructuring. At the same time Stanford study reinforces a point that many feared: AI adoption is already reducing jobs in predictable, routine, or entry-level tasks and creating fewer immediate opportunities for displaced workers.
One signal from industry, one from academia. Together, they tell a stark story: the AI dividend is real, but unevenly distributed. Enterprises capture productivity gains and shareholder value. Workers face uncertainty, communities disruption. AI isn’t just augmenting; it’s replacing, even in white-collar domains once thought safe.
For leaders, the message is clear: redesign jobs, not just reduce them. Reskill, rebuild ladders of opportunity, and maintain trust while pursuing efficiency. Cutting costs with AI may deliver short-term wins, but without reinvestment in people, it risks long-term fracture.
The companies that thrive won’t be those that simply shrink their payrolls; they’ll be those that create new paths for human potential.
“The future of work won’t be written by AI alone. It will be judged by how we choose to keep humans in the story.”
Noteworthy this week: what caught my eye in the AI and tech world
Robinhood and AppLovin to join S&P 500 – Robinhood’s inclusion signals fintech’s growing legitimacy. AppLovin’s 77% revenue growth and pivot to high-margin adtech position it as a rising AI-driven advertising force.
OpenAI $115B spending surge – Revised projections show nearly $80B more than expected by 2029, as OpenAI seeks control of its infrastructure. It’s bold, but aligned with megacap-level AI investment. My take: AI is no longer R&D, it’s industrial policy.
Anthropic’s $1.5B copyright settlement – The largest in U.S. history, resolving piracy of books from shadow libraries. The judge upheld training AI on copyrighted works as fair use, but the case highlights the urgent need to modernize copyright law for the AI age.
AI upends search advertising model – Ad spend in AI-driven search projected to jump from $1B in 2025 to $25.9B by 2029. From static keywords to multimodal, dimensional queries, this shift will redefine attribution, monetization, and competition in the AI-native web.
Google gets to keep Chrome – Found guilty of monopolistic practices in search, but allowed to retain Chrome and default search deals. Exclusive AI distribution contracts are banned, leaving Google free to double down on AI dominance.
India IT Inc worries on Tariffs – U.S. is weighing tariffs on Indian software exports, endangering a $283B industry reliant on U.S. clients. Combined with AI disruption, it’s a wake-up call: Indian IT must pivot from cost-based outsourcing to AI-led value creation.
OpenAI Job Platform – OpenAI plans to launch a certification program and job marketplace, aiming to train and certify 10M Americans by 2030. With Walmart as a partner, this is a direct challenge to LinkedIn, reshaping how people find and prepare for jobs in an AI-first economy.
Beyond Tech & AI: my music / media / sport “mind share” this week
The BBC Proms 2025 season is in full swing. Orchestral premieres, global folk fusions, and immersive film scores, something for everyone. My favourite this season? Anoushka Shankar’s “Chapters” performed with Robert Ames and London Contemporary Orchestra. A transcendent blend of Indian classical, electronica, and storytelling. Still available on BBC iPlayer. Don’t miss it.
In summary: my key takeaway this weekend
The accelerating march of AI is no longer a distant drumbeat it’s the rhythm reshaping our economy, work, and institutions in real time. From Salesforce’s job cuts to OpenAI’s $115B moonshot, the signals are clear: efficiency is prized, but empathy cannot be lost. Innovation without inclusion risks deepening divides.
“AI may be rewriting the rules but it’s up to us to decide who gets to stay in the game.”
Amitabh Apte 