AI Anxiety Climbs as Half of U.S. Workers Now Fear Job Loss

Here's today's top stories in AI news. Workforce anxiety is rising: KPMG finds 52% of U.S. workers fear AI-driven displacement, nearly double last year. CFOs are split on headcount reduction as an AI ROI metric, while a St. Louis Fed study links AI prevalence to recent unemployment upticks. A Senate bill would require reporting AI-related layoffs. Executives urge investment in upskilling as most employees want more training. As ChatGPT turns three, the AI race accelerates. Big Tech capex is nearing $400B this year; generative AI revenues are estimated around $60B in 2025 with ~230% growth, led by APIs. Early enterprise wins (e.g., JPMorgan, BNY Mellon) suggest broader productivity gains could inflect around 2026. Free AI access is tightening: Google’s Gemini 3 Pro and OpenAI’s Sora 2 are capping free usage, prioritizing paid tiers amid GPU strain and cost pressures. The data center boom is lifting construction wages 25–30%+, with bonuses and perks, amid a shortage of ~439,000 skilled workers. OpenAI is testing search ads in ChatGPT’s Android beta, signaling a personalized ads model that could reshape web discovery for its ~800M weekly users.