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Masters of Scale · August 18, 2026 · 30m 3s

What the jobs report isn't telling you about AI & the workforce, with Upwork’s Hayden Brown

Hayden Brown

Hayden Brown, CEO of Upwork, shares real-time data on how AI is reshaping the workforce. She discusses which skills are surging, which jobs are disappearing, and reveals that 23% of businesses that moved work to AI are already bringing humans back. Brown also explains why she refused to blame AI when Upwork laid off a quarter of its staff, and highlights the gap between AI hype and reality.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Novel

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23% of businesses that moved work to AI are already bringing humans back
Upwork's data shows that 23% of businesses that initially automated work with AI have since re-hired human workers.
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Highlights

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She refused to blame AI for layoffs
When Upwork laid off a quarter of its staff, CEO Hayden Brown explicitly declined to blame AI for the cuts.
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The gap between AI hype and reality
Brown emphasizes a significant disconnect between the widespread hype about AI's impact on jobs and the actual measured effects on the ground.
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Skills surging and disappearing
Upwork's platform reveals which skills are currently in high demand and which are becoming obsolete due to AI.
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Misc

✧Hayden Brown refused to blame AI for Upwork's staff layoffs, despite the temptation to attribute them to automation.
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