“The Daily Show” host poked fun at some of Silicon Valley’s most influential AI leaders in Monday’s episode, sharing clips from OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google.
Fears that technology could replace some jobs are not new, but tech leaders are trying to assure the public that their products work as productivity-enhancing “assistants.”
Stewart pointed out that society had already gone through massive technological upheavals, most of which promised “a utopian life without drudgery.”
“But the reality is they are coming for our work,” he added, seeking assurance that new AI products would not remove the need for humans.
Stewart accused tech executives of letting “the real truth slip from time to time,” following Nadella’s video joke claiming that AI would cause “a global shift in the job market.”
The host also scoffed at the suggestion that AI creates new jobs, such as those of fast engineers, pointing out that this role could be easily automated.
Later in the show, Stewart said he wanted to do the Apple TV+ show segment, “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” but Apple objected.
“What is this sensitivity? Why are they so afraid to have these conversations in the public sphere?” he asked Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan, who he said Apple had asked him not to interview about AI.
Stewart previously addressed the abrupt cancellation of “The Problem,” telling CBS in October that Apple didn’t want him to say things that could get him “in trouble.”
The host returned to “The Daily Show” in February to host Mondays in 2024 after leaving in 2015.
Representatives for Stewart did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside of normal business hours.
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