Marketplace Tech · Monday, September 14, 2026
A discussion on Marketplace Tech explored how artificial intelligence could lead to companies favoring AI over human employees due to tax implications. An expert noted that businesses might save on payroll taxes like Social Security and Medicare if they employ AI instead of humans, as current tax systems are not designed for AI labor.
“All things being equal, if I and an AI could do exactly the same work just as well, a business would be better off firing me and hiring the AI system effectively because they'd save on taxes that way.”
“Now, if an AI does the work instead of a human, the company pays social security and Medicare at 0%.”
“So why does the tax system treat human labor and technology differently?”