NYT staff walk out, Perplexity steps in?

The US presential election—arguably one of the biggest news events of the year—is upon us. And, over 600 New York Times (NYT) technical, software, and data analyst employees have chosen this moment to walk out of their jobs, in protest for a 2.5% pay rise, job security against layoffs, and better remote working opportunities. 

This was undoubtedly a carefully planned, strategic move by the NYT Tech Workers Guild (which represents NYT technical employees), designed to create the biggest impact and get the NYT to sit up, listen, and commit to fairer labor practices. 

But Aravind Srinivas—CEO of AI search start-up Perplexity—almost ruined their demonstration by offering the NYT use of Perplexity’s AI services to help support them during such a critical coverage event.

His social media post: “Perplexity is on standby to help ensure your essential coverage is available to all through the election” was met with criticism and outrage:

 "You know what else is essential? Paying and treating your workers fairly. This is repulsive." 

People accused him of being a ‘scab,’ which is someone willing to take strikers' jobs, therefore undermining the strike's solidarity and bargaining power. 

He later clarified that his offer wasn’t to “replace” these employees with AI, he just wanted to provide additional “technical infra support on a high-traffic day.” But as the striking workers are the ones who provide the technical support, many feel his offer remains controversial.