The AI backlash is here

AI’s growing revolt: From workplace upheaval to economic fallout—And the workers, industries, and leaders caught in the crossfire.

Author

Malcolm Frank, CEO
June 30, 2025

The AI backlash is here

Innovation naps quietly in the corner until it stretches, yawns, and wanders into the world.  As As GenAI moves through society at scale, it’s starting to see itself reflected back not in admiration but in resistance.

Duolingo’s green owl, once a meme-worthy mascot, became public enemy number one when the company pivoted to an “AI‑first” strategy; replacing human contractors overnight, and turning the brand’s cheer into sneers. Meanwhile, bestselling authors are hoisting stacks of handwritten manuscripts on TikTok, telling the world, “Using generative AI to write a book doesn’t make you a writer, it makes you a thief.”

This kind of pushback always follows the path from possibility to reality: people don’t panic at an idea, they panic at the sight of its effects. Will your job evaporate? Your craft be co‑opted? Your identity diluted? That’s when the creeping suspicion hardens into a backlash.

For executives, the top priority now is managing the fear. People still want to work at companies doing bold things with AI; just not if it puts them on the chopping block. Thus, rolling out AI isn’t just a tech strategy: it’s a trust exercise. You need to show, function by function, role by role, how this makes your people better, not irrelevant. Draw the line from AI to their success. Because if you don’t tell that story inside, the noise outside might tell it for you.

The AI backlash keeps growing stronger

As GenAI tools continue to proliferate, pushback against the technology and its negative impacts grows stronger.

As job losses loom, Anthropic launches program to track AI’s economic fallout

The Economic Futures Program tracks AI’s impacts on the labor market and global economy and provides policy proposals to prepare for the shift. 

It’s known as “The List”—and it’s a secret file of AI geniuses

All over Silicon Valley, the brightest minds in AI are buzzing about “The List,” a compilation of the most talented engineers and researchers in artificial intelligence that Mark Zuckerberg has spent months putting together.

“No longer optional”: Microsoft staff mandated to use AI at work

Microsoft may even start factoring AI tool use into performance reviews.

AI killed my job: Tech workers

Tech workers at TikTok, Google, and across the industry share stories about how AI is changing, ruining, or replacing their jobs.

AI is coming for software engineering jobs: Here’s what the market trends reveal

As the job market is rapidly changing and new roles are emerging, here are five key shifts that every software engineer should know about.

AI Is killing marketing as we know it — So what comes next?

At this year’s Cannes Lions — advertising’s equivalent of the Oscars — the technology takeover that’s been building for years is now complete.

Salesforce says half of its work is being done by AI now. What happens to half of Salesforce's workers?

Is this Benioff hyperbole or reality? The Salesforce CEO claims AI is driving “productivity levels 30 to 50 percent, this year, in key functions. Like engineering, coding, support, service.”

I studied 400 highly successful leaders - 5 skills you need to sharpen in the age of AI: Stanford expert

The question isn’t whether it will impact your career, but how you can prepare yourself to thrive in this evolving landscape.

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Organize emails and streamline meeting note-taking.

Ford CEO says new technologies like AI are leaving many workers behind, and companies need a plan

CEO Jim Farley says “I think we need to go back to the basics—to trade schools—and we need to have a society that doesn’t look down on people like that.” 

AI agents move beyond experimentation as leaders prepare for competitive transformation

KPMG study shows 82% of leaders agreeing that AI is rewriting their industry’s competitive landscape.

AI begins to reshape the IT job landscape as layoffs rise

As more companies cite AI as a main driver for layoffs, IT pros are left to wonder whether career anxieties are being realized or the industry is simply adjusting to another new paradigm.  

Case study: Walmart cracks enterprise AI at scale: Thousands of use cases, one framework

Walmart continues to make strides in cracking the code on deploying agentic AI at enterprise scale. Their secret? Treating trust as an engineering requirement, not some compliance checkbox you tick at the end.

Case study: L’Oréal CEO touts AI-powered beauty revolution

Focusing on product innovation and consumer experiences, and leveraging 16,000 terabytes of data for advantage. 

New study warns tax firms without AI strategies will fall behind (and fast)

Thompson Reuters: “We’re seeing a perfect storm in the tax and accounting industry: while our research shows professionals expect to save 240 hours annually through AI, more than half of tax firms report critical skills gaps and four in ten have no AI strategy at all. This isn’t just a competitive disadvantage—it’s an existential threat.”

The rise of the cognitive enterprise: Why agentic AI platforms are the next great business revolution

WEF study: We are entering a new era where technology is no longer just a tool, it is becoming an active participant in decision-making. By amplifying our cognitive abilities, AI is redefining the nature of work, leadership, and strategy.

The biggest AI announcements (and high drama) of 2025 so far

A lot has occurred during the first half of 2025. It was hard to narrow the list down.

And one more thing…

Can AI visualise our dreams? This Dutch company is trying to do just that

“Wake up, speak your dream aloud…and watch it come to life in a dreamscape in the aesthetic of your choice.”

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