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- [00:02]
A
Layoffs, a shutdown, and yet the stock market keeps surging from Marketplace. I'm Sabri Benishore, in for David Brancaccio. Over the weekend, the White House threatened more government layoffs if negotiations between Democrats and Republicans continue to go nowhere. Meanwhile, 100,000 earlier layoffs and buyouts finally took effect last week, and yet stocks hit a record Friday. Julia Coronado is here to talk about it. She's founder and president of Macro Policy Perspectives. Morning, Julia.
- [00:32]
B
Good morning.
- [00:33]
A
So 100,000 federal workers disappeared from payrolls last week, and the White House is threatening more layoffs. I imagine that is going to make the monthly jobs report look pretty bad if we actually get it. But does that threaten the labor market in general?
- [00:50]
B
So 100,000 workers, it's a lot of people, but it's a very tiny share of the labor market overall. The threat of additional firings does leave a cloud over a much larger population of federal workers. So it is a concern that it's one piece of a labor market where, you know, the job creation machine and process is sputtering right now.
- [01:19]
A
And despite that, despite the fact that people are worried or nervous about the job market, stocks are hitting new records. They hit new records last week, even with a shutdown. Why is that happening?
- [01:33]
B
You know, there's a lot of tension right now in economic indicators. For now, there's not a lot of data to get in the way of an optimistic stock market. So, you know, it just keeps going.
- [01:46]
A
It seems there are a couple other markets that are usually associated with, you know, worry. Bond yields are rising here in Japan. In France this morning also, the price of gold is surging, too. What is that telling us?
- [02:03]
B
There is a lot of concern in markets about kind of the lack of functionality in governments across the world. In Japan, the election outcome suggests more fiscal spending lies ahead. And so bond markets are getting a bit nervous about all of the government spending and lack of government functionality and ability to make sound decisions and keep budgets in check.
- [02:33]
A
Julia Coronado is founder and president of Macro Policy Perspectives. Thank you so much.
- [02:38]
B
My pleasure.
- [02:56]
C
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- [03:28]
A
By the end of this year, global spending and investment in AI is expected to reach $1.5 trillion, according to research firm Gartner. But while AI is being used to save time and money in a lot of industries, some, some businesses are just rejecting it altogether. So what happens to them? The BBC's Hannah Mullane has that.
- [03:48]
D
No contracts, no scripts. No contracts, no scripts.
- [03:53]
E
It's summer in 2023 and one of the longest labor strikes in Hollywood history is taking place as actors protest against the use of artificial intelligence. The strike ends after the Writers Guilds of America approved an agreement which doesn't outlaw the use of AI tools in the writing process, but does set up guardrails to make sure workers are in control of the technology. Since the strike, we've seen many creative businesses and individuals criticize AI and in some cases turn their backs against it altogether.
- [04:23]
F
A couple of years ago I realized how the incorporation of generative AI was going to pretty much crush the structure of the film business. Just by the nature of taking out certain roles. You know, when you do that in any sector, you'll kind of collapse the structure of that business.
- [04:40]
E
Justine Bateman was an actor and is now a filmmaker and this year launched a film festival in the US called Credo 23, specifically showing films that haven't used AI.
- [04:50]
F
You completely stop your forward momentum as an artist by using AI because you're going, I'm done thinking imaginatively about like progressing within my skill set. I'm just going to jump off this and I'm going to start using something that regurgitates stolen work from other people.
- [05:10]
E
Creative industries are certainly shouting quite loudly against the use of AI. But there is another area where artificial intelligence isn't having as much of an impact as you might expect. Chambers of Commerce in the UK and the US have conducted research that shows a number of small and medium sized businesses are choosing not to use artificial intelligence.
- [05:31]
D
But really no one is leaning into AI. No one that I have come across. They just, just don't trust it.
- [05:38]
E
Gene Marks is the CEO of Marks Group, a technology consultancy company in Philadelphia. Working with 600 small and medium sized enterprises across the U.S. the average age.
- [05:48]
D
Of the U.S. small business owner is about 56 years old. Many of us remember all sorts of versions of Microsoft Windows coming out of Microsoft Office that never really seemed to quite work until it got to version 3.0. They see the promise of AI. They see where it's going. But you know, they're also still smarting from investing in technology, technology that wasn't quite ready for prime time.
- [06:10]
E
And do you think the small businesses that aren't willing to embrace AI that are pushing back against it a lot, are they going to fall behind as we move further forward?
- [06:20]
D
They'll fall behind to their existing competitors and they'll fall behind to younger generations that will compete against them. And they will also fall behind in recruiting good employees as well. My biggest advice that I'm giving to a lot of our clients, no one is expecting you to develop your own AI solution. It's not what you do. You know, I mean, you're a roofer or you're a distributor or you're a manufacturer. You're a restaurateur. Your software vendors are the ones that are spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars developing new features that are leveraging AI. You want to lean in to these features so that you can be as efficient as possible in your business. That's your job as a business owner.
- [07:00]
E
AI clearly isn't working for many small companies in the way big tech corporations might like it to, as they shy away from investing in something that they don't feel they can trust just yet. And while some may be holding back, those in creative industries are pushing it away in a bid to protect the creative process and the jobs that that process creates.
- [07:20]
A
That's Hannah Mullane there with our news partners at the BBC in New York. I'm Sabri Benishore with the Marketplace morning Report from 8pm American Public Media.
- [07:32]
G
I'm Kimberly Adams, host of Make Me Smart, a podcast from Marketplace that makes today make sense. Join me throughout the week as I dig into the biggest stories in tech culture and the economy. Whether it's a vibe check on the job market or the latest on China US Relations, Make Me Smart helps you understand how the headlines actually impact your daily life. Listen to Make Me Smart on your favorite podcast.
- [07:58]
D
Apparently.