The ROI of frontier AI models is a topic of hot debate in corporate America right now, primarily centered on the cost of compute. To understand what other dynamics might be at play, we did what we do best: we asked the American public.
In a poll fielded this week, 34% of workers say their workload has increased since their company started using AI, including 10% who say it’s increased significantly.
There are many factors that could be driving this. It could be that AI is not yet generating meaningful productivity gains on the individual level, or that the time saved by AI is used to complete even more work. Perhaps workers are taking on more work if their teams have reduced headcount. Respondents said the added workload comes mostly from managing and checking AI output – reviewing drafts, catching errors, and re-doing work the model got wrong. It’s the unglamorous labor of quality control, and right now, it appears to be landing squarely on employees’ shoulders.
Interestingly, it’s not a story of frustration or distrust. Among workers who say AI has changed their job, 88% call that change positive. Put together, the data suggests companies may be in an early training period, where the labor costs required to teach AI are currently more significant than the costs saved by the technology. What’s more, workers seem to sense that the tradeoff is worth it.
As business leaders race to deploy AI, they may want to consider how they’re rewarding workers for the extra elbow grease that’s making that transformation possible.
Be well,
Martin
57% of institutional investors and analysts believe AI will have a negative impact on the environment.
Axios reports that Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis is calling on the U.S. to establish an AI watchdog group comprising world-class technical experts.
Meanwhile, Common Sense Media finds Google’s AI search failed safety tests and scored poorly on seven of the organization’s eight AI safety principles.
CNBC investigates former Meta employees’ accusations that the company unfairly used AI in recent layoffs.
New York became the first state to put a temporary ban on data centers until standards are created that address environmental impacts, energy demands, water usage, and other factors. NBC News has the story.
A group of economists from Stanford’s Digital Economy Lab released a statement calling for urgent preparation for the economic impacts of powerful AI models. The statement has been signed by over 200 economists including 16 Nobel laureates and the chief economists of OpenAI and Anthropic.
Covista and the Covista Foundation committed $10 million and 50,000 volunteer hours to build and sustain the healthcare workforce over the next five years.
Gallup finds that confidence in U.S. institutions remains near all-time lows.
Fortune reports that the growing national debt may result in a smaller job market with lower wages for Gen Z in particular.
This chart comes from Gallup and looks at Americans’ confidence in large technology companies. Among the institutions rated this year, large technology companies experienced a surge in Americans expressing very little or no confidence.
The question of who shares in the wealth AI creates is a defining one. Should there be an “AI tax” for hyperscalers? Or an AI-based sovereign wealth fund? Maybe you think no special measures are needed. What’s clear is that most of the debate is happening among the people building the technology and the people who will regulate it, not the people it will potentially impact the most. So, this week, we fielded a national survey to ask Americans directly whether the wealth AI generates should be shared, and how.
The headline finding represents a point of agreement across demographics. Nearly two-thirds of Americans, 65%, say everyone should receive a direct financial benefit from the wealth AI companies generate. That view holds across the political spectrum, with 75% of Democrats, 62% of Republicans, and 57% of Independents in agreement. It runs strongest among the 25-to-44 year-olds most exposed to AI in the workforce, where support reaches a massive 78 to 80%, and it stays steady across income levels and gender.
What people want done with that wealth is more revealing. Across nearly every group, a direct cash payment funded by a tax on AI profits is the first choice. The exception is the youngest cohort. They lean instead toward structural mechanisms like public ownership stakes and sovereign-wealth-style funds, share transfers, and investment in worker retraining and AI safety.
I find this striking. The generation most likely to be impacted by AI, and with the most working years ahead of it, is not asking for a check. It wants a stake in the future and the means to compete. Business leaders and politicians seeking to win the favor of young Americans should pay close heed.
Be well,
Martin
For the last three quarters, Just Capital has been polling the American public, investors, and corporate leaders on AI deployment, tracking where perceptions converge and where gaps are widening.
Our third installment of quarterly polling on responsible AI deployment is now available in Just Intelligence for all registered users.
This research is designed to offer a roadmap for companies looking to build trust in the AI era and make informed decisions as the AI landscape evolves. It is the first iteration of an ongoing series that will continually surface insights from key stakeholders as companies aim to build trust, manage risk, and unlock AI’s upside potential for workers, customers, communities, and shareholders.
Axios examines new polling that shows data centers are turning into the focal point for anti-AI sentiment across the nation.
Reuters reveals that despite the fears, AI proliferation is having a muted effect on wages and workers.
At the same time, Gallup writes that while downsizing is continuing across the U.S., laid-off workers are only citing AI as the primary reason 1% of the time.
The Wall Street Journal speaks with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about his belief that we “can’t let AI giants eat the economy”. Read the full interview.
While they are experiencing a harder job search, The Guardian reveals that Gen Z employees who managed to snag a job are actually making more money than millennials did right after college.
Fortune takes a look at why men continue to drop out of the workforce at higher rates.
Yahoo! Finance holds a magnifying glass to CEO pay, and how more CEOs than ever are making more than $100 million a year.
The Washington Post teams up with the Brookings Institute to examine which jobs are most-and-least vulnerable to AI-driven displacement.
Our third quarterly AI survey of the American public, investors, and corporate leaders is out this week and the results are striking.
Twenty-seven percent of corporate leaders report providing advance notice of AI-driven layoffs, 31% say they are offering transition support to laid off workers, and only 13% report contributing to an industry-wide fund to support displaced workers. Nearly a quarter of corporate leaders — 23% — say none of these support mechanisms exist at their organization, despite the fact that 22% now believe large-scale job losses are on the horizon (compared to 13% just one quarter ago).
We think one possible explanation for these wide-ranging responses is that most companies don’t anticipate or aren’t yet laying off at the scale that would trigger displacement programs, so those programs haven’t been built. Only 19% of corporate leaders report significant job cuts to date. Nevertheless, the gap between investor and public expectations and corporate action is widening. Sixty-four percent of the public and 57% of investors expect advance notice of workforce changes. Seventy-two percent of investors say companies should fund training and skill development. These stakeholders are concerned about widespread layoffs even if they’re not yet materializing.
Other interesting datapoints: The share of company leaders who believe business should spend over 5% of total AI investment to support displaced workers has more than doubled since Fall 2025 from 8% to 17%. And nearly 75% agree companies should invest in local communities through training and workforce development programs.
Are business leaders getting more concerned about what’s to come? Or more committed to building support with key stakeholders? Maybe both.
Be well,
Martin
This newsletter was written mostly by humans with a bit of help from AI.
We are expanding Just Intelligence to track how America’s largest companies are deploying AI responsibly and we want your feedback.
Through polling conducted over the last year, we have identified several AI issues that matter most to the American public and developed new data points that capture how corporate disclosures meet those expectations. We plan to incorporate these data points into our 2027 Rankings methodology.
If you belong to a company being measured, your perspective is essential to ensuring this research is relevant and actionable.
Please submit your feedback by July 8, 2026.
View the Data Points and Provide Feedback
Fortune highlights comments from Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert Smith imploring companies who are expanding their AI capabilities to continue to invest into intern programs for the next generation, saying “that’s an important part of bringing people along and, honestly, of creating optimism and a new group of technologists and thinkers who can carry this world.”
NBC News covers a historic bill that just passed in Illinois that would require AI companies to have 3rd party safety audits.
Fortune examines Goldman Sachs data showing new college students are shifting majors to those that are less at risk for AI automation.
Our CEO Martin Whittaker joined Yahoo Finance to discuss the findings in our latest AI polling.
The New York Times reports on the UK’s social media ban for children under 16, and the worries from company executives that other countries may follow suit.
Yahoo Finance examines the “30% rule” – the idea that Americans should only spend 30% of their income on housing – to see if it’s actually still feasible in this era of slowing wages and hyperinflation.
Axios looks at rising CEO optimism despite the current headlines.
Axios looks at how, for the first time, a majority of U.S. households have both parents working full-time.
SpaceX will begin trading this morning with what is projected to be the largest IPO on record. I tend to look at these historic moments through a just lens. What does the average American expect of a company worth trillions of dollars? And what do they think of a single person being worth $1 trillion?
We decided to take these questions to the public. The results are illuminating for anyone looking to build trust in this era of extreme wealth – and were more measured and nuanced than one might expect.
Only 10% of Americans said a trillion-dollar company’s first responsibility is to its shareholders. Fully 80% want these companies to pay their workers well, give employees a real stake in the business, and reinvest in the communities where they operate. Creating value for stakeholders ranked far ahead of philanthropy. No-one is asking companies for a handout. They’re asking them to give others a stake in their success.
When it comes to extreme personal wealth, a majority, 57%, said it is acceptable for a single individual to be worth a trillion dollars or more. In today’s climate of anti-capitalist backlash that might be a surprise. But it comes with a string attached. The largest group, 34%, called it acceptable only if the wealth was built responsibly and without exploiting others.
The public is savvy. It’s OK to be wildly successful financially provided it has been done in a way that widens access to opportunity and builds value for others rather than extracting from them.
Be well,
Martin
This newsletter was written mostly by humans with a bit of help from AI.
The Wall Street Journal spoke with over a dozen leading economists on the effect AI will have on companies, workers, the country at large, and more. As expected, opinions run the gamut.
Fortune reports on Palantir CEO Alex Karp’s comments that companies touting AI layoffs are creating their own regulatory demise, stating: “if you run around saying AI allowed you to fire two-thirds of your workforce…you might as well just go sign up for the Bernie Sanders manifesto.”
Axios looks at how AI is helping mask America’s literacy crisis – with nearly 160+ million Americans unable to read past a 6th grade level – and how it might continue to exacerbate the problem.
The New York Times looks at Trump’s idea for the government to take a stake in major AI corporations.
Courts have struck down President Trump’s $100,000 fee on H1-B visas. The Washington Post has the story.
Meta is launching America’s Workforce Academy, an initiative to fast-track more Americans into trades with a starting investment of $115 million.
CNBC looks at why 51% of U.S. adults believe that the American dream is out of reach for most people right now.
The Disruption Lab highlights the life and work of former Just Capital board member Dan Hesse, and the lesson that “If your system separates business from community, it will produce growth that doesn’t reach the people who need it most…because the architecture wasn’t built to connect them.”
Axios looks at how inflation has risen to its highest point in the last three years, and how it’s affecting families across the U.S.
Yesterday, I shared a Q&A I recently had with Steve Beard on LinkedIn. Steve is CEO of Covista, which recently completed a transformation into America’s largest healthcare educator. It’s a fascinating story that got me thinking more broadly about what distinguishes leaders who successfully navigate profound transformation. The news that Enrique Lores has been named CEO of PayPal and The HOW Institute’s annual release of their State of Moral Leadership in Business report added more food for thought on this increasingly critical topic.
Enrique received our inaugural JUST Capital Lifetime Achievement Award last year for his exceptional leadership at HP Inc. During his tenure, he guided the company through a fundamental strategic transformation while consistently investing in workers, customers, and communities. I have confidence he’ll do the same at PayPal.
What do Steve and Enrique have in common? Both understand that transformation and stakeholder investment aren’t competing priorities, they’re mutually reinforcing.
Covista sits at the intersection of workforce, health, education, and technology. When I asked about Covista Open Doors, their new initiative to expand access to healthcare careers, Steve went straight to the heart of it. “We train and develop the folks that care for all of us,” he told me. “And we’ve got an opportunity that we believe is too good and too important to pass up.”
Enrique operated with the same philosophy at HP. At our flagship Best of American Business event last year he shared his conviction that “…business success and social responsibility are not separate pursuits. They are deeply connected.”
Both leaders also embody authentic leadership grounded in personal experience. Steve, a first-generation college graduate, told me that creating opportunity for historically excluded populations is simply part of who he is. Enrique started at HP as an intern nearly four decades ago, inspiring his commitment to workforce advancement and long-view leadership.
The HOW Institute report demonstrates how rare this kind of human, stakeholder-first leadership may be but also how vital it is to the process of transformation.
Be well,
Martin
The New York Times surveyed prominent technologists, economists, and philosophers and found deep disagreement over whether AI will ultimately expand opportunity or accelerate inequality. They also put out a separate opinion piece featuring three economists debating the impact AI is already having on the economy.
Fortune reports that Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser is pushing an employee training initiative across the organization to reskill their workforce with AI tools before automation reshapes people’s roles.
Axios examines why employees aren’t buying the hype for AI the same way their employers are.
The Washington Post reports a widening labor gap as demand for electricians, plumbers, and skilled trades grows while white-collar hiring slows..
Fortune finds more employers abandoning performance-based raises in favor of flat, across-the-board increases — a move meant to more broadly retain workers.
Bloomberg reveals that CEOs are increasingly anxious about economic slowdown, geopolitical instability, AI backlash, and workforce morale with fewer leaders confident they can manage multiple risks at once.
HR Dive highlights new research showing that replacing an employee now costs employers more than $45,000 on average, strengthening the business case for retention.
The Wall Street Journal reports that The Washington Post is laying off about one third of its workforce as digital subscription growth slows and legacy media companies continue to struggle with advertising and audience fragmentation.
A KFF Health Tracking Poll finds health care costs, expiring ACA tax credits, and insurance affordability are top voter concerns, particularly with many companies having to alter their health benefits due to rising prices.
President Trump’s proposal to eliminate quarterly earnings reports touches on a fundamental issue for many interested in the future of capitalism: how to embrace longer-term thinking while providing sufficient transparency (especially for retail investors), performance discipline, and market accountability.
The evidence for taking a more long-term perspective is powerful. According to FCLT Global, 90% of executives agree longer time horizons would improve performance, and companies able to do so outstrip competitors in revenue, earnings, and job creation. Business Roundtable has consistently emphasized that long-term thinking is essential for superior business performance and sustainable value creation. Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon have also argued that quarterly pressures create “an unhealthy focus on short-term profits at the expense of long-term strategy, growth and sustainability.”
One factor to keep in mind is that public demands for more corporate transparency are going up, not down. Our polling shows “communicates honestly and transparently” has risen to become a top 5 issue for the majority of Americans regardless of demographic or political association. In today’s low-trust environment, reducing reporting could backfire.
One solution may be to change what is reported. In their 2018 op-ed, Buffett and Dimon argued that earnings reports should continue as they “support being open with shareholders about actual financial and operational metrics.” What they proposed to eliminate was forecasting or guidance on future quarterly earnings. Doing so would “strengthen the U.S. economy, benefit America’s workers, shareholders and investors, and leave a generational legacy we can be proud of.”
What if we expanded that concept to report more holistically on other forms of stakeholder value creation, such as performance on workforce training; well-being and human capital advancement; investments in local communities and suppliers; improvements in customer satisfaction and privacy protections; progress on AI safety? Could be a win-win for long-term thinkers and transparency advocates alike.
Be well,
Martin
Semafor covers Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares’s new book “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies”, which argues that nearly everyone will be harmed or destroyed if AI systems continue to be built under the current paradigms.
Meanwhile, CNBC covers OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s remarks to Tucker Carlson that he’s been “losing sleep” over small model decisions that can have big repercussions.
Fortune speaks to several high-profile CEOs who think that AI innovation will spur 3-day work weeks for many Americans.
Anthropic released data showing that some companies are eliminating entry-level roles altogether.
Fiverr’s CEO announces layoffs and a plan to return to a “startup mentality” as they pivot to being an “AI-first” company. View the full LinkedIn post.
Can AI actually help us reduce our energy consumption despite the costs to run it? The Director of the Energy, Climate Justice, and Sustainability Lab at NYU thinks so. Read the Wall Street Journal op-ed here.
Fortune confirms that many CEOs are using RTO mandates to trim headcounts without having to order actual layoffs.
Business Insider reports that many Americans aged 80 and older who retired from well-paying jobs are now accepting low-paying roles — retail, caregiving, or service positions — to supplement social security and make ends meet as prices rise.
The Wall Street Journal looks at how companies are handling the calls to fire employees based on their social media posts around Charlie Kirk’s death.
Yahoo Finance reports that Ben of Ben & Jerry’s is resigning after 47 years due to parent company Unilever trying to silence the brand’s activism.
Axios reports on new Pew Research data that shows Americans are setting boundaries for what they think AI should be involved with and what it shouldn’t.
