Big Companies Start Hiring Again, Anthropic's Open-Weight Position, Zuck Backs AI for All | Diet TBPN

**John Coogan** (0:01)
Well, Anthropix responded. We're gonna go through that proposal, the facts and the proposal for what happens next in the open model debate over whether or not they should be banned, restricted, tested, limited in some ways, sued. Oh, there's a whole bunch of different possible outcomes, but we'll take you all through it. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that large companies are beginning to hire again.

**Jordi Hays** (0:24)
They have a large white pill.

**John Coogan** (0:26)
Yes, it is a large white pill.

**Jordi Hays** (0:27)
Has hit the front page of the journal.

**John Coogan** (0:29)
Yes, and I think people have been going back and forth on this. This is a story that's just getting digested by the tech folks, like the actual AI lab leaders who had predicted crazy job losses and are now not really seeing that. They're seeing productivity boosts and different diffusion, taking time in certain places, and there's new capabilities, but it's not exactly a drop-in replacement for a coworker, at least in most scenarios. That's what the Wall Street Journal is reporting. Let me set the table and then we can debate it a little bit. After roughly a year of cautious hiring, companies across technology, transportation, defense and other industries now say they need more employees to work alongside AI systems. Total victory for both humans and AI.
We're working together. Peace is possible. It's an example of Jevons Paradox. Jevons Paradox, when a technology makes something more efficient, demand often rises enough, the total use and the need for people actually increases. For roughly the past year, many companies pointed to AI while announcing layoffs. This was a huge thorn in your side. I think you hated this more than anyone else.
You were right to because it did seem like it was just PR, spin, etc.

**Jordi Hays** (1:47)
Yeah, it was a way for CEOs and management teams to save their own ass, instead of saying, hey, we over hired or the business isn't doing as well as we would like, and we need to settle down for a second and get our mojo back.

**John Coogan** (2:05)
Yeah.

**Jordi Hays** (2:06)
Obviously, no one wants to say that, but I think one of my favorite posts was the, and obviously, these circumstances are never great, but the new sea of Xbox came out and just was like very honest about the situation, and I think that more of that is necessary.

**John Coogan** (2:23)
Yeah. Also, there's a lot of firms where once they get to 10,000, 20,000 employees, they might say, look, 20,000 might be the right number, but the bottom thousand people are not performing. We would like to lay them off and then bring in a new thousand people that are better fit for the company and the current trajectory that we're on, the current skills that we need. Maybe we need more salespeople, more developers.

**Jordi Hays** (2:46)
And those bottom thousand people might be top 10% at another company.

**John Coogan** (2:51)
Exactly. Yeah. So the narrative appears to be shifting.
Companies like CSX, Alphabet, ServiceNow, Snap-on, and consulting giant Booz Allen Hamilton have all recently signaled plans to expand hiring, particularly in areas where employees can use AI to become more productive.

**Jordi Hays** (3:09)
Yeah, it used to be somewhat of a flex if a company was like, we put up a role and we got 2,000 applicants.

**John Coogan** (3:14)
Yeah.

**Jordi Hays** (3:15)
It's like, well.

**John Coogan** (3:16)
That's true. Then also, it's a little bit of a sign of like, oh, wow, they have 100 openings. They must be growing so fast.
But if it's just a prompt to say, oh yeah, put up, look at my organizational design and add five roles for everyone, because why not? Why not see who comes by?
We don't necessarily have to interview these people. So weird, weird dynamics, but we'll dig into it. So meanwhile, the latest weekly US jobless claims fell to one of the lowest levels in decades, underscoring the resilience of the labor market. The shift also reflects a more realistic understanding of AI's capabilities. Sarah Franklin, CEO of HR platform Lattice, says many companies initially assumed AI agents could replace entry-level workers, but are now recognizing that human employees remain essential. Just because you have coding agents doesn't mean you're not hiring engineers. She said, adding that Lattice is seeing renewed hiring among many of its customers, including for junior roles. Robert Half, CEO, M. Keith Waddell, said AI's effect on employment has been more benign than some has feared, adding that hiring demand continues to improve and market conditions are increasingly more supportive of business. So I do think there was a little bit of a successful Psi-op with the AI is going to be able to do everything, where I do think there are some firms that were like, yeah, maybe we shouldn't hire, or because what if we get it wrong and we hire a bunch of people, and then AI really does catch up and we don't need those people. That's silly. We shouldn't go through that whipsaw effect. So people are going back and forth on that. Bryce Roberts. Yes, it's interesting.