AI Startup Mechanize Aims for ‘Automation of All Work’
The emergence of Mechanize, an AI startup with ambitious plans to automate all work, has sparked intense debate in the tech community. Founded by Tamay Besiroglu, the company aims to create virtual work environments, benchmarks, and training data to enable the full automation of all work. According to its announcement on X, Mechanize plans to achieve this by creating simulated environments and evaluations that capture the full scope of what people do at their jobs, including using computers, completing complex tasks, coordinating with others, and adapting to obstacles and interruptions.
Besiroglu calculated Mechanize’s total addressable market by aggregating all the wages humans are paid, roughly $60 trillion per year on a global scale. However, he emphasized that the company’s immediate focus is on white-collar work, rather than manual labor jobs that would require robotics. The launch of Mechanize has been met with a mixed response, with some critics arguing that the automation of most human labor will be a significant loss for humans.
This concern is echoed in research by PYMNTS Intelligence, which shows that 54% of respondents believe AI poses a significant risk of widespread job displacement. However, MIT economics professor David Autor offers a more optimistic perspective, arguing that AI will augment workers rather than replace them. At the 2025 MIT AI Conference, Autor pointed to historical precedents, noting that over the last 200 years, automation has made labor more valuable, not less.
As the debate around AI and automation continues, Mechanize’s ambitious plans serve as a catalyst for discussion about the future of work and the potential impact of AI on various industries.
