Understanding Through Listening
Statistics about AI adoption often obscure the human experiences behind them. This section presents documented perspectives from workers directly affected by AI implementation, drawn from surveys, news reports, and interviews.
Writers and Translators
A 2024 survey by the Society of Authors (UK) of 787 creative professionals found significant job losses already occurring:
- 36% of translators have already lost work to generative AI
- 26% of illustrators have already lost work to generative AI
- 43% of translators report decreased income due to AI
- 77% of translators believe AI will negatively impact future income
From individual testimonials collected by Blood in the Machine:
"I have had some of these clients for 10 years. All gone. Some of them admitted that I am obviously better than ChatGPT, but $0 overhead can't be beat and is worth the decrease in quality."
— Freelance writer
"Over six years I did over 300 [commissions]. From articles, to fanfics, to novellas. It was my full time job. I loved it. When AI started... I slowly started to have less and less jobs. Even though in Fiverr I had 5 star reviews and more than 56 client recommendations... I stopped having commissions."
— Commission writer
Illustrators and Artists
From The Globe and Mail:
"I spent years developing my digital art and design skills. Started a helpful side hustle doing semi-realistic, fantastical portraits... Unfortunately, it's also what AI art is especially good at. Now all someone has to do is use a filter to get what I spent weeks of time and love creating."
— Digital artist
Photographer Phil Kneen's experience, also from The Globe and Mail:
"I scouted locations for a band that wanted me to shoot an album cover, a job that would have paid around £4,000, only to be told that they would go with an AI-generated picture instead."
Customer Service Workers
Dukaan: 90% Staff Replacement
In July 2023, Indian e-commerce platform Dukaan replaced 90% of its customer support staff (23 workers) with an AI chatbot, cutting support costs by 85%. CEO Summit Shah called the cuts "tough but necessary."
Klarna: AI Doing Work of 700 Agents
Fintech company Klarna announced its AI chatbot does the equivalent work of 700 customer service agents, handling two-thirds of customer inquiries. Though Klarna claimed no immediate layoffs, the company later reduced its workforce from 5,000 to 3,500.
Hollywood Writers
From Brookings Institution interviews with Hollywood writers:
"If they don't need human writers to write scripts, I'm out of a job and every writer who comes after me is out of a job. As soon as the companies can get rid of writers, they will."
"They'll profit for two years until the bottom falls out and everyone's like, 'This is horseshit.' But by then, it's too late. The job's already gone."
— Animator, quoted in Brookings research
The 2023 WGA strike resulted in contractual protections requiring AI to be used only as a tool under writer control, not as a replacement.
The Numbers
According to industry surveys:
- 44% of companies say employees will "definitely" or "probably" be laid off due to AI (up from 37% in 2023)
- 41% of employers worldwide intend to reduce workforce due to AI in next 5 years (World Economic Forum)
- Customer service representatives face 80% automation risk by 2025
What Workers Are Asking For
Across industries, workers and unions are demanding:
- Consent — 95% of Society of Authors respondents want consent before their work trains AI
- Compensation — 94% want payment when their work is used in AI systems
- Regulation — 95% want government safeguards on AI use
- Retraining — Access to programs that help transition to new roles
- Voice — Involvement in decisions about AI adoption in their workplaces
Share Your Story
If you have experience with AI adoption in your workplace, we'd like to hear from you. Your perspective helps build a more complete picture of technology's human impact.