Senator Bernie Sanders has called on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to testify before the US Congress on plans to raise $100 billion for an AI-driven manufacturing fund. Sharing a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Bernie Sanders wrote “Jeff Bezos, worth $233 billion, wants to raise $100 billion to replace factory workers with robots”. Calling the move a “declaration of war against the working class,” Sanders said that Bezos “must explain to the American people what happens when millions lose their jobs. How will they survive?”. This comes after a report by the Wall Street Journal last week which said that Jeff Bezos is meeting with some of the world’s largest asset managers to raise a new fund that would acquire manufacturing companies and seek to use AI technology to speed up automation. The fund, reportedly called “manufacturing transformation vehicle” in investor documents, aims to buy companies in major industrial sectors such as chipmaking, defense and aerospace. The fund is expected to be larger than some of the world’s biggest buyout funds and could rival SoftBank’s $100 billion tech-focused Vision Fund.

Bernie Sander’s letter to US HELP Committee

Sanders has also written a letter to the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Here’s what he wrote: “Dear Chairman Cassidy: As you know, the pace of technological advancement in robotics, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly increased in just the past few years. These revolutionary technologies will have a profound impact on the lives of virtually every worker in America. Our job is to ensure that this new technology benefits working families and is not simply used as another tool to make the wealthiest people in the world unimaginably richer. A few days ago, Cognizant, one of the leading information technology consulting firms in the world, estimated that 93 percent of American jobs are now vulnerable to some level of disruption as a result of AI and 30 percent of all jobs in our country could be wiped out altogether by this technology – 15 percentage points higher than what they predicted just three years ago. In its report on this subject, Cognizant stated: “We underestimated the impact of this technology. What we projected might take until 2032 to unfold is happening now before our eyes.” On the same day that study was released, the Wall Street Journal reported that Jeff Bezos, the fourth richest man alive worth $233 billion, is seeking to raise $100 billion to purchase factories all over America. His goal: replace the millions of workers who are employed in these plants with robots. The American people are increasingly apprehensive about the impact that AI and robotics will have on the economy and their lives. Congress needs to act. The HELP committee needs to act. In my view, we must demand that Mr. Bezos come before our committee to explain to the American people why he believes it’s a good idea to replace millions of American workers with robots. We need to understand what will happen to these workers. Will Mr. Bezos be providing a generous severance package for them? Will these displaced workers be able to maintain their health care benefits? Will they be able to receive a decent retirement plan? Or will they simply be thrown out on the street in order to make Mr. Bezos even richer? These are just a few of the questions the HELP Committee should be asking Mr. Bezos at a public hearing. I look forward to working with you to schedule a hearing with Mr. Bezos in the HELP Committee in the very near future.”