Economist Peter Schiff argued that artificial intelligence is lowering barriers to entrepreneurship by allowing people to start businesses without hiring employees, while criticizing labor laws and the risk of employee lawsuits.

Schiff Says AI Makes Starting a Business Easier

On Monday, Schiff shared a post on X encouraging people to consider starting their own businesses rather than searching for traditional employment, citing AI’s growing capabilities.

"AI makes it much easier to start a business, as there is no longer a need to hire employees," he wrote.

He argued that the technology offers particular advantages because of what he described as "onerous labor laws" and the ease with which employees can sue employers.

"So don’t look for a job; think of a business you can start," Schiff added.

AI makes it much easier to start a business, as there is no longer a need to hire employees. This is especially advantageous given onerous labor laws and how easy governments have made it for employees to sue employers. So don't look for a job; think of a business you can start.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) October 19, 2026

AI Industry Developments

Last month, Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham called for a new AI inference metric based on problem-solving rather than token counts.

In June, Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) CEO Brian Chesky was reportedly developing a separate AI lab focused on interactive AI products while remaining Airbnb’s CEO.

Earlier this year, Invisible Technologies CEO Matt Fitzpatrick said human feedback would remain essential to AI training for decades because models still struggled with complex tasks. The company, which was valued at more than $2 billion in a September 2025 funding round, raised $100 million at the time.

AI Funding and Analytics Expansion

Last week, Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya questioned the quality of AI companies’ revenue, suggesting that 70%-80% came from other AI firms funded by venture capital.

He noted that AI and machine-learning companies captured roughly 83% of U.S. venture funding through September, up from 10% in 2015.

Meanwhile, Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) announced that it had agreed to acquire AI analytics platform Loops for integration into Tableau.

Media reports valued the deal at approximately $30 million, although Salesforce did not disclose the terms. Loops used machine learning to track business performance and identify trends.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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Disclaimer:This article represents the opinion of the author only. It does not represent the opinion of Webull, nor should it be viewed as an indication that Webull either agrees with or confirms the truthfulness or accuracy of the information. It should not be considered as investment advice from Webull or anyone else, nor should it be used as the basis of any investment decision.