In the United States, as artificial intelligence races ahead, so has the backlash. A protester held a sign during a protest outside of OpenAI headquarters in San Francisco on March 21, calling for a pause in AI development. New York moved closer to passing into law a pause on the development of new data centers that power the technology. Tech leaders who invoke AI optimism in their commencement speeches are getting booed by classes entering the workforce with anxieties about what AI could mean for their job prospects. When someone dares to question the wonders of technology, there's a handy word used to mock them: Luddite. David Friedberg, a tech investor and adviser to the White House, recently dropped the term 'Luddite' on the popular business podcast All-In, saying the claim that AI will destroy jobs is labeled a 'Luddite idea' and claimed to be false. The term 'Luddite' is often used derogatorily. According to theconversation.com, the term emerged in early 1800s England, when a thriving textile industry depended on manual knitting frames and a skilled workforce to create cloth and garments out of cotton and wool. The Industrial Revolution gathered momentum and threatened the livelihood of thousands of artisanal textile workers. A growing number of textile workers turned to direct action against machines they saw as robbing them of their source of income. Ned Ludd was the leader galvanizing textile workers to smash machines. Ned Ludd’s name became synonymous with rejecting disruptive new technologies — an association that lasts to this day.