Latest Corporate Mantra: AI or Bye Bye.
This week, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy's warning that expanding the use of artificial intelligence means that companies need fewer people in some roles is increasingly the latest indication that CEOs don't see places in the corporate world because of AI holdings.
While the message that leads to “learning AI or being left behind” can be a bit unsettling, corporate observers tell Business Insider that it's better for cubicle residents to listen to this message now rather than hearing it now.
“If I were an employee, it would be very frustrating to see leaders say, 'No, I don't know if this will affect us yet,'” said Christopher Myers, a faculty member at the Johns Hopkins Carrie Business School's Center for Innovative Leadership.
Instead, he said it would be wise for corporate leaders to allow AI to “are likely” reposition the role and the overall organizational chart.
Several other high-watt CEOs say the same.
Openai's Sam Altman said this month that AI agents are already beginning to unlock jobs comparable to junior employee agents. That follows a warning from Dario Amody, who runs humanity in late May, that AI could potentially eliminate half of its entry-level desk work within five years.
Even Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who opposed Amodei's calm take, said that AI is likely to change “everyone's” work as he has already done to him.
Managing Humans and AI Agents
Salesforce chief Marc Benioff talks regularly about the changes that AI can bring. He says that the software giant is likely not hiring any more engineers in 2025 as AI is supercharged existing workers. Benioff also told fellow chiefs in February in a call with investors that he would tell fellow chiefs that they are the last generation leaders who will oversee only people.
“I think all CEOs going forward are trying to manage people and agents together,” he said.
However, a CEO's straight talk doesn't always work well with employees and customers. Duolingo CEO Luis Von Ahn said in a recent note to staff that language learning companies will become “AI-First” and therefore will gradually stop them from turning to contractors when AI can do their job. Some Duolingo users said the company is pushing out workers in favor of AI.
Fong Ann later wrote to LinkedIn that one of the most important things a leader can do is provide clarity. “When I released the AI memo a few weeks ago, I didn't do it well,” he wrote.
In the post, Von Ann didn't know exactly what would happen with AI, but added, “We have to fundamentally change the way we work and we have to go further than that.”
Some of the changes could include cutting workers. The World Economic Forum said in January that of the more than 1,000 employers surveyed worldwide by the World Economic Forum, they plan to trim the workforce as AI employs several tasks, the World Economic Forum said in January.
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Clear the road
Myers of Johns Hopkins said Jassy's latest declaration on the impact of AI could create space for other CEOs to have difficult discussions about how AI affects workers.
“Having a candid conversation might be better than allowing people to speculate vigorously about whether it will affect them,” he said.
Myers said that anyone who thinks AI is all considered is tricking himself.
“Everyone who puts his head in the sand lacks something that changes very rapidly,” he said.
Sarah Franklin, CEO of HR Software Company Lattice, is something leaders have to nail. She said the officials need to make it clear that the previous transition period is not that fast, but that it is possible to overcome this.
But sometimes it may be a dangerous passage. Franklin said that the structure of some organizations has many entry-level jobs at the bottom and is moving towards more diamonds, so AI has been handled by less experienced workers or is taking on more memorization tasks. This means that many starter roles are eliminated.
There may be other challenges as well. Because of all the enthusiasm that some CEOs have shown for their promise that AI will be more productive, Melissa Swift, founder and CEO of consultant Anthrome Insight, told BI that he often hears from clients that the technology investment they have made will not be rewarded.
She said part of the problem is that companies need to not only invest in new, shiny technologies, but also organize changes in the way humans work.
Swift said people can often learn by playing with things. So, until more workers dig into AI, it may be difficult to bring some of the broader changes that some bosses want, she said.
Another challenge: When technology is more or less static, Swift says, it can change how an organization works. However, AI gains a significant amount of its capabilities every few months.
“Nothing of these things are mature,” she said. “We are doing the world's largest beta test.”
Franklin of Lattice said the speed of technology change is essential for leaders to communicate clearly with their employees about what's going on, and it's essential for workers to listen.
“Armageddon wasn't happening,” she said. “But our world is evolving at a very fast pace.”
