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Yet another CEO in the artificial intelligence space is warning that major job losses are imminent due to advancements in the technologyand they may come much sooner than many anticipate. Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity, cautioned that roles such as recruiters and executive assistants could soon be rendered obsolete by the next wave of AI improvements, particularly as AI browsers become more widely adopted. Perplexity recently launched the Comet AI browser, featuring an Assistant mode capable of researching topics, booking flights, scheduling meetings, and more. Speaking on The Verges Decoder podcast, Srinivas acknowledged that while Comet currently struggles with long-horizon tasks, human assistants are still needed to manage complex workflows. However, he added, “I’m pretty sure [that within] six months to a year from now, it can do the entire thing.” The emergence of more advanced reasoning models, he said, could put recruiter roles especially at risk. “I’m betting on the fact that a sufficiently good reasoning model could get us over the edge where all these things are suddenly possible and then a recruiters work worth one week is just one prompt: sourcing and reach outs,” he said. Srinivas believes that with access to a user’s Gmail and calendar, Comet’s AI Assistant can not only match a human assistants capabilities but even exceed them when it comes to follow-ups. For example, if a meeting invite is sent and responses begin rolling in, the AI can “go and update the Google Sheets, mark the status as responded or in progress and follow up with those candidates, sync with my Google calendar, and then resolve conflicts and schedule a chat, and then push me a brief ahead of the meeting.” According to Srinivas, the ultimate vision is to turn the web browser into a sort of operating systemrunning tasks in the background all day to streamline the user’s schedule. While theres still a way to go before reaching that point universally, he said Perplexity is close to realizing this goal in specific areas. If successful, he believes word-of-mouth adoption could fuel further growth. “We nail those use cases, get the early adopters to love the product, and then ride the wave of progress and reasoning models,” he said. “Thats been the strategy.” Srinivas is far from alone in raising concerns about AI’s disruptive potential for the job market. In May, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told Axios that AI could eliminate up to 50% of all entry-level white-collar jobs within five years, potentially pushing unemployment as high as 10% to 20%. That warning, he emphasized, was meant for both policymakers and fellow AI developers. “Most of them are unaware that this is about to happen,” Amodei said. “It sounds crazy, and people just don’t believe it. We, as the producers of this technology, have a duty and an obligation to be honest about what is coming.” Also in May, LinkedIns Chief Economic Opportunity Officer Aneesh Raman noted that AI increasingly threatens the kinds of jobs that have traditionally served as stepping stones for young professionals. Venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee has gone further, calling forecasts that AI will displace 50% of jobs by 2027 “uncannily accurate.” Still, there are signs of pushback and recalibration among companies that have embraced an “AI-first” philosophy. At Klarna, for instance, despite ongoing AI investments, the company has come to value human interaction more deeply. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg in May that the fintech firm was preparing to hire more staff to ensure customers always have the option to speak with a live representative. Similarly, Duolingos pivot to AI-led operationsannouncing it would reduce reliance on contractors for tasks AI can performsparked strong backlash from users. A company spokesperson told Fast Company in May that Duolingo was “committed to using AI with human oversight, to help us deliver on our mission to make the best education in the world available to everyone.”
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E-Commerce
Around this time last year, Southwest Airlines announced that it would scrap its signature open-seating model in favor of a more traditional assigned seating system, chipping away at its identity as a quirky airline in order to better compete with rivals like Delta Air Lines and American Airlines. A year later, Southwest is finally gearing up to sell its first assigned-seat tickets. Over the past few months, Southwest has been slowly shedding the features that once made its brand stand out. The airline built its name around its uniquely standardized open-seating boarding systemwhich meant that every customer flew in the same kind of seat, without any divisions by price tier. Last July, though, the airline announced that it would implement new premium features (like seats with expanded legroom) and assigned seating. This March, Southwest killed its bags fly free policy, which offered every flier two free checked bags. And in April, the airline overhauled its fare bundles to include more expensive fares with better amenities. Southwest expects these new policies, among others, to add $800 million to earnings before interest and taxes this year, and add $1.7 billion in 2026. Starting on July 29, Southwest will sell assigned-seat tickets, and planes with the updated seating will take to the skies on January 27 of next year. The airline recently shared more details about how its boarding process is set to change. Less time pressure, but a more segmented cabin Southwests current open-seating boarding process is simple: Passengers line up behind stanchions based on their boarding group (labeled by letters A to C) and then pick an available seat once theyre on board the plane. In an investors call last July, Southwests executive vice president Ryan Green noted that this process is relatively calm but can create time pressure once customers are inside the cabin. Some of that pressure will be alleviated under this new system, with the trade-off being that the cabin will now be segmented into standard and premium seating sections. In an interview with CNBC, Southwest executives shared that the new boarding system was designed using computer models and live testing in order to ensure that the assigned seating wouldnt slow the process down. We wanted to make sure that, as we designed a boarding construct that paired well with assigned seating, we were optimizing for efficiency. But also for the second priority: making sure that were taking care of our most loyal customers, Stephanie Shafer Modi, managing director of fares and ancillary products at Southwest, told CNBC. [That includes] tier members, cardholders, and customers who buy our most premium products. An eight-group boarding system The updated boarding system reflects Southwest’s increasing focus on high-paying passengers. Under the new parameters, customers will be prompted to choose a fare bundle when they first purchase a ticket, and they’ll receive a letter and a seat number when they check in onlinesimilar to the current system. However, once they arrive at the airport, passengers will be separated into two lines and eight different boarding groups: The first two groups to board will include the top tiers of elite frequent fliers, and those with the top classes of tickets (Choice Extra and Choice Plus). Groups 3 through 8 will be for Choice and Basic ticket holders, depending on their seat location. Credit card holders and Rapid Rewards credit card members will board no later than Group 5. Despite the changes, Green said last July: We expect our future boarding process to feel very familiar and uniquely Southwest.
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E-Commerce
The FDA has issued a recall for more than 67,000 cases of deodorant which are sold nationwide. The products, Power Stick roll-on deodorants, are made by the Easton, Pennsylvania-based company A.P. Deauville. Per an enforcement notice, the recall includes three separate products: the Power Stick For Her Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant in the scent power fresh,” the Power Stick Invisible Protection Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant in the scent spring fresh,” and the Power Stick Original Nourishing Invisible Protection Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant.Over 20,000 cases of each product were recalled. The enforcement notice marked the reason for the recall as “cGMP deviations”, which stands for Current Good Manufacturing Practice. Per the FDA website, failure to meet CGMP regulations can lead to products being recalled.The FDA notes, “Adherence to the CGMP regulations assures the identity, strength, quality, and purity of drug products by requiring that manufacturers of medications adequately control manufacturing operations. This includes establishing strong quality management systems, obtaining appropriate quality raw materials, establishing robust operating procedures, detecting and investigating product quality deviations, and maintaining reliable testing laboratories.”The recall was announced on July 10 and is ongoing. While the products did not meet FDA standards, an exact reason for the recall was not disclosed. No injuries have been reported.According to the enforcement report, the products were distributed nationwide. They are regularly sold at Dollar Tree, Amazon, and Walmart.
Category:
E-Commerce
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