In response to the criticism, Srinivas clarified that his offer was not to replace the striking workers with AI, but to provide technical infrastructure support on a high-traffic day. However, it remains unclear what services Perplexity could offer that would not amount to replacing the striking workers, as they are the ones who provide such services to the NYT.
Key takeaways:
- The CEO of AI search company Perplexity, Aravind Srinivas, has offered to provide services to the New York Times (NYT) to mitigate the effects of a tech workers' strike.
- The workers, who provide software support and data analysis for the NYT, have been asking for a 2.5% annual wage increase and a two days per week in-office expectation.
- Srinivas's offer was criticized by many who saw it as an attempt to undermine the strike, a behavior often referred to as "scabbing".
- Srinivas responded to the criticism by stating that his offer was not to replace the workers but to provide technical infrastructure support on a high-traffic day.