How much is AI actually affecting the workforce?

NPR | By Wailin Wong,

Darian Woods, Cooper Katz McKim, Paddy Hirsch, Kate Concannon

Published September 4, 2025 at 9:22 AM EDT

Circa 1750, The 'Spinning Jenny', invented by James Hargreaves in 1764, which allowed one person to spin several threads at once.

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Wailin Wong

Wailin Wong is a co-host of The Indicator from Planet Money.

Darian Woods

Darian Woods is a co-host of The Indicator from Planet Money.

See stories by Darian Woods

Cooper Katz McKim

Cooper Katz McKim is an Assistant Producer for NPR's daily economics podcast The Indicator from Planet Money. Before The Indicator, McKim reported at NPR Member stations in South Carolina and Wyoming. At Wyoming Public Radio, he filed stories with NPR's Environment And Energy Collaborative on bankruptcies, carbon capture and economic transition. He's won a national Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Use of Sound. More recently, he's served as a podcast producer at Sports Illustrated and the HISTORY Channel. He graduated from Tufts University and now resides in Denver, Colorado, where he spends his time mountain biking and playing jazz piano. [Copyright 2024 NPR]

Paddy Hirsch

Kate Concannon