AI is getting a budget increase, and workers aren’t

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As AI tools ship faster than anyone can update their LinkedIn profile, anxiety about what all this “efficiency” means for actual human jobs is rising right alongside the hype.

And unlike some tech panics of the past, there’s mounting evidence this one isn’t just vibes.

A November study from MIT found that nearly 12 percent of jobs could already be automated using today’s AI. Employers appear to have noticed.

Entry-level roles are quietly disappearing, layoffs are openly linked to AI adoption, and companies are starting to squint at their org charts and ask the forbidden question: Do we really need all these people?

That tension showed up clearly in a recent TechCrunch survey of enterprise-focused venture capitalists.

The survey didn’t even ask about labor, yet multiple VCs independently brought it up, an accidental tell that something is shifting.

According to them, 2026 is shaping up to be the year when AI stops being a productivity helper and starts becoming a workforce decision.

Eric Bahn of Hustle Fund summed up the mood best: no one knows exactly what’s coming, but everyone agrees it’s big.

Repetitive roles are obvious targets, but even more complex, logic-heavy jobs may start to bend.

Will AI cause mass layoffs? Boost productivity? Quietly replace junior workers? The honest answer, Bahn says, is “we don’t know yet.”

Others are more confident. Marell Evans of Exceptional Capital predicts that as AI budgets go up, hiring budgets go down, and that layoffs will continue to drag on US employment.

Rajeev Dham of Sapphire agrees, while Jason Mendel from Battery Ventures argues 2026 will be the year of AI “agents,” when software stops assisting humans and starts doing the work itself.

Not everyone thinks AI is truly to blame. Antonia Dean of Black Operator Ventures suggests it may become the perfect scapegoat, covering for bad forecasts, overhiring, or strategic missteps.

AI, after all, doesn’t complain on earnings calls.

Meanwhile, AI companies insist they’re not killing jobs, just automating “busy work” so humans can focus on deeper, more meaningful tasks.

Workers, understandably, are not reassured. And according to the people funding these tools, that unease isn’t going away any time soon.