Yet Another CEO Predicts a Shorter Workweek Thanks to AI

Another CEO has joined the likes of Bill Gates and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in stating that AI could lead to a shorter working week.

Zoom CEO, Eric Yuan, stated this week, and not for the first time, that the helping hand of AI is likely to lead to fewer days in the office for us all.

However, with the technology proving disruptive in the workspace, some believe that AI could lead to no more days in the office, with many jobs predicted to be at risk thanks to the tech.

A Shorter Workweek Thanks to AI?

AI could lead to the biggest revolution to the workweek since Ford mandated the 5-day working week, aided by the mechanisation of his factories.

This is certainly the vision of many CEOs, including most recently Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, a great proponent of AI, who at the TechCrunch Disrupt Conference this week stated that the goal was to be working four, or even three days, within the next five years. It’s not the first time he has floated the idea – he said the same thing to the New York Times last month.

He’s not alone. Other business leaders have voiced similar thoughts, including Bill Gates, who goes one further, and thinks we’ll get to a two day workweek in the next decade.

Of course, one question in all of this is if employees are working a shorter week, will CEOs still pay them a full week’s wage? It’s one of the details of the AI workplace takeover that’s yet to be ironed out.

The Rise of the ‘6-6-9’ Workweek

However, while there is optimism in some quarters about the labor saving aspects of AI, in others it’s actually fueling an even longer work day.

Some AI start ups are adopting a 9am to 9pm, six days a week work schedule, in an effort to compete with the fierce threat of competition from China, as reported by Inc.

It’s a far cry from the vision of Yuan and co, instead demanding more sweat and tears from workers in order to keep ahead of rivals.

AI’s Threat to Jobs

Then there’s the other side of AI – the fact that it can be so effective at helping you with your job, it might just do away with you all together. We’re already seeing companies coming forward and stating that they’ve reduced headcount, thanks to AI, and that seems a trend that’s unlikely to stop anytime soon.

Just this week, Amazon has announced that it is cutting 14,000 corporate jobs. In the note to staff about this move, you’ll find a familiar term – ‘AI’. Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology at Amazon credits the technology with enabling the company to operate more leanly, which is likely to be of little comfort to the 14,000 employees currently brushing up their resumes.

This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before (in existing market segments and altogether new ones). We’re convinced that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business. – Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology

Eric Yuan’s comments this week illustrate the real unknown of AI’s future impact on the workplace, the seeds of which are being sewn now. His views certainly seem the best case scenario, but when they come at the same time as swathes of job losses due to AI advancement, it’s hard to know which outcome to bet on.

Regardless, it’s hard to argue that one way or the other, AI will certainly have a long term impact on how we do our jobs from here on.