ALBANY — The idea that tens of thousands of office workers in New York could be replaced over the next five years by computer programs reads like the plot of a dystopian science fiction novel. But the trend is already underway: approximately 54,000 workers nationwide lost their jobs last year because of artificial intelligence, according to a Congressional report released in December.
For many, AI first appeared through generative text-prompt applications like ChatGPT. But the technology has continued to evolve rapidly. Generative AI now powers sophisticated “agentic systems” capable of performing tasks without human prompting, which many experts predict are the next wave of job-replacement technology.
For state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, who grew up in Saugerties and remembers the economic pessimism that followed the closure of IBM’s Kingston plant 30 years ago, the implications for upstate New York are profound. She worries not only about mass layoffs, but also about whether unemployment insurance systems are prepared…