Steve Case warns AI job losses may outpace gains
The AOL cofounder told Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference that AI has major promise but needs a middle path on oversight.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
AOL cofounder Steve Case said artificial intelligence could produce more job losses than gains, even as he argued the technology carries major economic promise. Speaking at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen this week, Case urged business and political leaders to avoid both heavy restraints and a hands-off approach.
Case, now chairman and CEO of investment firm Revolution, told Fortune’s David Kirkpatrick that AI policy will likely settle in what he described as a messy middle. He said slowing development too much would damage innovation and the United States’ position against rivals including China, while allowing companies to proceed without guardrails would be irresponsible.
Fortune reported that Case was more cautious when asked about workers. He said new roles may appear and many existing roles may disappear, adding that the final result would probably be negative for employment, though he said the outcome remains uncertain.
Case framed the AI debate through his experience building AOL. According to Fortune, he started the company in 1985, when 1% of Americans were online, and later led it as it became the largest internet company of the 1990s and went public in March 1992.
AOL’s growth was slow by today’s standards, Case said at the conference. Fortune reported that he contrasted AOL’s rise to 184,000 users over seven years with ChatGPT’s jump to 100 million users soon after launch, calling that surge a turning point comparable to Netscape’s role in the early web.
That speed, Case said, has made AI harder for governments to address. He told the Fortune audience that AI has become widely used quickly enough to force action from policymakers in the United States and abroad.
Case said the political pressure around AI is likely to show up in the 2028 election, according to Fortune. He pointed to public unease, including boos at college commencement speeches that mentioned AI and protests tied to data centers, and warned that Silicon Valley’s assurances will not be enough to win public trust.
Fortune reported that Case also cautioned executives not to treat the Trump administration’s lighter regulatory stance as permanent. He said companies should think about AI policy over a 10- or 20-year period, and suggested a future system could resemble a dedicated regulator for AI, much as medical products face FDA oversight and cars are subject to speed rules.
Case has spent decades near Washington and has ties across party lines, Fortune reported. He previously employed Ron Klain, who later served as President Biden’s White House chief of staff, and Vice President J.D. Vance.
After leaving AOL Time Warner in 2005, Case founded Revolution, which Fortune said now has $2 billion in companies and more than 200 startups. Its “rise of the rest” seed fund has invested outside Silicon Valley and New York, including in Detroit during the city’s bankruptcy.
Case told the conference that his health care investments have shown him AI’s benefits. He also said the current period of intense partisanship will eventually ease and that Washington will find ways to act on major issues again, according to Fortune.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.