Vice President JD Vance will speak at Don's Machine Shop in West Pittston, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, July 16th, 2025 (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday he was “optimistic” about artificial intelligence that automates American employment and was offering bullish prospects on the impact of technology during a summit hosted by venture capitalists in Washington, D.C.
With his victory at the AI Race Summit, Vance responded to questions from podcaster and tech investor Jason Calacanis about how the second Trump administration handles evacuation of AI-related jobs.
“For every self-driving car we put on the road, it's four drivers who retire from work,” said Calacanis, an early investor at Uber. “For every Optimus or humanoid robot that ultimately put it in the factory, it would be five or six factory jobs.”
Vance countered that the threat of unemployment caused by automation is exaggerated.
“If robots start taking on all of our jobs, we can see labor productivity is rising in this country,” he said. “But in reality we see a flatline of labor productivity. What that means is that our country is not dependent on technology and not over-indexed by technology,” cites Business Insider.
The Summit brought together venture capitalists, startup leaders and political figures to discuss how the US can stay competitive in the global AI race. The conversation follows growing concerns after Chinese company Deepseek unveiled a strong AI model earlier this year.
Other speakers at the event presented AI as a source of employment growth. Chris Power, CEO of Factory Automation Startup Hadrian, said the new Arizona production facility, expected to open in the second half of 2025, could create jobs for more than 350 factories.
Vance also targeted large tech companies, relying heavily on international labor despite the surplus of US-based STEM alumni.
“On the other hand, some Silicon Valley tech companies, especially large companies, say they are desperate for workers they can't find. “But at the same time, it appears that the university-educated employment rate of STEM graduates in this country is declining.
“If you don't employ American workers from outside of college for these jobs, how can you say you have a huge shortage?” he added.
