- Jeff Bezos says AI doom-mongerers are "dead wrong"
- Amazon founder says using AI will lead to greater productivity
- Bezos praises Trump, but says "I'm on the side of America"
Jeff Bezos has slammed opponents to the increasing usage of AI in the workplace, saying the technology could actually assist workers across the world and unlock extra productivity for all.
Speaking to CNBC's Alan Sorkin, the Amazon founder turned wannabe socialite looked to play down growing fears that AI technology will gut the job market, particularly for younger workers.
“I think those people are dead wrong,” Bezos said. “What’s really going to happen is that (AI) is going to elevate all of these people.”
"Higher level" work
Bezos, whose former company is one of the largest AI adopters in the world, instead predicted the technology will help boost productivity, and could even lead to deflation as the cost of goods and services falls - but clarified this could only happen if, “we let this technology play out and don’t hamstring it with regulation too early.”
He also rejected the idea that AI coding tools could be a threat to software engineers, stating the technology could actually help them be more productive by spotting issues and solving problems.
“It’s just that the work is going to be done at a higher level,” Bezos said. “It’s going to be done with a bulldozer instead of a shovel, and that’s going to be a good thing.”
In a wide-ranging interview at his Blue Origin spacecraft headquarters, Bezos also touched on tax issues, President Trump and economic policies across the US.
“The top 1% of taxpayers pay about 40% of all the tax revenue, and the bottom half pay 3%,” Bezos said. “I don’t think it should be 3%. I think it should be zero.”
Despite leaving Amazon in 2021, Bezos is still handsomely paid by the company - in April 2026, it noted he received an $81,400 salary - a figure which hasn't changed since 1998, although he also received $1.6 million in security and travel expenses. Bezos, of course, also owns around 8% of Amazon, with his shares estimated to be worth in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
“People sometimes say that, you know, I don’t pay taxes. Not true. I pay billions of dollars in taxes,” Bezos told CNBC, pushing back on critics saying he doesn't pull his weight, and also claiming that making him pay more wouldn't solve anything.
“You could double the taxes I pay, and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens. I promise you.”
Bezos also told Sorkin he believes President Donald Trump is “a more mature, more disciplined version of himself than he was in his first term,” but noted he had also spoken to predecessors Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
“We need our business leaders to provide input into the administration, regardless of who the president is,” he said.
“I’m on the side of America,” he added. “And that’s where business leaders should be.”
