AI revolt

Samsung workers demand fair share of AI windfall ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up here. Pay talks between a booming industrial business and a recalcitrant labor union may seem like an unlikely staging post to the future. Given the union is demanding a bigger slice of the artificial-intelligence windfall from South Korean chip giant Samsung, this looks like a significant moment for how companies — and governments — respond to the public’s AI-induced concerns. Workers at a rally outside Samsung’s semiconductor plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, on April 23. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg The pressure’s been building for weeks. In April, more than 30,000 rallied outside Samsung’s main semiconductor complex. Samsung is Korea’s most valuable company thanks to its expertise in fabricating the high-bandwidth memory chips that are used in AI data-center servers. Fellow chipmaker, SK Hynix, is not far behind. Together, they dwarf the rest of South Korea’s benchmark Kospi stock index. So when government-mediated wage talks broke down today, the Kospi declined — and the whole country sat up. Samsung is the world’s largest memory maker, and its semiconductor arm just posted a 48-fold jump in quarterly profit. Massive spending by so-called AI hyperscalers means it’s projected to generate almost $200 billion in operating profit this year, second only to Nvidia among the most profitable tech companies. Workers want a bigger piece of that action, and are threatening an extended strike to get it. Beyond questions of fairness, this is political. A South Korean policymaker caused waves this month by suggesting the country could use excess tax revenue from AI profits to fund a “dividend” for citizens. The government later clarified the idea represented his personal opinion and wasn’t the subject of formal discussions. President Lee Jae Myung came to power on a platform of stronger worker protections, yet has hinted that labor rights could be curtailed for the greater good. The government stepped in today, urging direct negotiations to resolve the dispute. It all comes in a week when Standard Chartered’s CEO talked of replacing “lower-value human capital” when announcing the elimination of thousands of support roles to AI. AI’s impact on the workplace is gathering pace, and it’s getting ugly. — Alan Crawford Bloomberg’s Yoolim Lee reports on the prospects for the strike. Global Must Reads Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned against resuming military operations in the Middle East as talks got underway with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. The comments come as President Donald Trump threatened to resume strikes on Iran in the coming days as part of the push for a deal to end the war. Xi and Putin at a welcoming ceremony in Beijing today. Photographer: Maxim Shemetov/Pool/AP Photo Taiwan’s Lai Ching-te used a speech marking his two years as president of the democracy to cast his government as a steady hand in its face-off with China. Those comments were squarely aimed at soothing Trump, who aired worries about a possible war after meeting Xi last week. “Taiwan is a responsible member of the international community, not a disruptor of stability,” said Lai. The European Union finalized the text of its long-delayed US trade deal after months of negotiations, clearing a major hurdle to ratifying the pact before Trump’s threatened deadline to impose higher tariffs. EU lawmakers and member states reached the agreement early today, according to the rotating presidency held by Cyprus. Greenland’s leader rejected giving up sovereignty as part of any deal to establish additional US bases on the Arctic island. Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen’s comments follow a BBC report last week that American officials are seeking to establish three new bases in southern Greenland, with the broadcaster reporting that Washington has floated an arrangement under which the installations would be formally designated as sovereign US territory. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reclaimed his lead in Brazil’s presidential race as Senator Flávio Bolsonaro lost support amid revelations about his ties to a central figure in the country’s biggest banking-fraud scandal. Lula is ahead of Bolsonaro by 49% to 42% in a possible runoff, an AtlasIntel survey for Bloomberg News found, the first major poll since leaked audio messages linked ex-President Jair Bolsonaro’s eldest son to the controversy. The Pentagon said it was permanently cutting about 4,000 soldiers from Europe as part of a broader review of forces that has generated anxiety among US allies on the continent and elsewhere in the world. A senior diplomat who oversaw the British Embassy in Washington in the wake of Peter Mandelson’s departure last year has abruptly left his role.  The Philippine Supreme Court rejected a petition by a senator to stop his arrest after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant over his alleged crimes against humanity. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto laid out plans to tighten state control over some of the country’s biggest commodity exports as the government contends with mounting fiscal pressures and a plunging rupiah. A coal mine in Tanjung Selor Regency, Indonesia. Photographer: Dimas Ardian/Bloomberg Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter for news from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. On this week’s Trumponomics, Stephanie Flanders speaks with John Authers and Robin J. Brooks about the global bond-market selloff rattling developed economies and what it means for investors, governments and the wider economy. Listen on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Chart of the Day India is considering incentives exceeding $1 billion to spur private-sector adoption of electric buses and trucks to cut fossil-fuel use amid a deepening energy crisis, sources say. The program would span a decade and target India’s largely privately owned commercial-vehicle fleet with the biggest share likely earmarked for inter-city bus operators. Officials and industry stakeholders are expected to meet this month to refine the plan. And Finally The UK’s right-wing Reform party has a warning for investors: don’t bet on renewable-energy projects awarded by the sitting Labour government. Reform wants to ban battery storage, scrap net-zero targets, support fracking and offshore drilling, and end taxpayer-funded green subsidies. That includes contracts given out under the latest £1.8 billion offshore wind auction, known as AR7, according to deputy leader Richard Tice. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Tice about the party’s climate and energy plans, and why he calls it “net stupid zero.” Listen now, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or YouTube to get new episodes of Zero every Thursday. More from Bloomberg Check out our Bloomberg Investigates film series about untold stories and unraveled mysteries Next China for dispatches from Beijing on where China stands now — and where it’s going next Next Africa, a daily newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it’s headed Economics Daily for what the changing landscape means for policymakers, investors and you Green Daily for the latest in climate news, zero-emission tech and green finance Explore more newsletters at Bloomberg.com We’re improving your newsletter experience and we’d love your feedback. 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